The park participates in the national Dragonfly Mercury Project to understand mercury pollution risks within National Parks. This project engages community scientists to collect juvenile dragonflies in various water bodies within the park. Dragonfly larvae live for years underwater, spending most of their lives in streams, wetlands, and lakes. In these environments, particularly in certain types of wetlands, natural biological processes convert some forms of mercury into a toxic, bio-available form. Once there, the mercury enters the food chain and becomes concentrated in top predators. Dragonfly larvae consume many small insects and even small fish, thus accumulating mercury throughout their lifetime in the water. Community scientists assist park staff to collect these larvae to send to a lab for mercury analysis. The results tell us about the amount of bio-available mercury present in the water body. Find out more about the Dragonfly Mercury Project and view project data. |
Last updated: March 9, 2022