The mercury in lakes isn't dangerous to humans until it gets to the bottom of deep lakes, where it turns into methyl mercury and binds to algae eaten by microscopic organisms. Those organisms are eaten by small fish, which are eaten by larger fish such as bass and trout.
As the methyl mercury makes its way up the food chain it accumulates at rates two to five times their previous levels at each stage, Austin said. By the time the methyl mercury reaches game fish such as bass it is sometimes found in concentrations dangerous to humans.
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