\documentclass[10pt]{article}

\usepackage{fullpage}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage{parskip}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\usepackage[section]{placeins}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{breakcites}
\usepackage{lineno}
\usepackage{hyphenat}





\PassOptionsToPackage{hyphens}{url}
\usepackage[colorlinks = true,
            linkcolor = blue,
            urlcolor  = blue,
            citecolor = blue,
            anchorcolor = blue]{hyperref}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\@combinedblfloats{\box\@outputbox}{\unvbox\@outputbox}{}{%
  \errmessage{\noexpand\@combinedblfloats could not be patched}%
}%
\makeatother


\usepackage{natbib}




\renewenvironment{abstract}
  {{\bfseries\noindent{\abstractname}\par\nobreak}\footnotesize}
  {\bigskip}

\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{*3}{*1}
\titlespacing{\subsection}{0pt}{*2}{*0.5}
\titlespacing{\subsubsection}{0pt}{*1.5}{0pt}


\usepackage{authblk}


\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage[space]{grffile}
\usepackage{latexsym}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage{tabulary}
\usepackage{booktabs,array,multirow}
\usepackage{amsfonts,amsmath,amssymb}
\providecommand\citet{\cite}
\providecommand\citep{\cite}
\providecommand\citealt{\cite}
% You can conditionalize code for latexml or normal latex using this.
\newif\iflatexml\latexmlfalse
\providecommand{\tightlist}{\setlength{\itemsep}{0pt}\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}}%

\AtBeginDocument{\DeclareGraphicsExtensions{.pdf,.PDF,.eps,.EPS,.png,.PNG,.tif,.TIF,.jpg,.JPG,.jpeg,.JPEG}}

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english]{babel}



\usepackage{float}








\begin{document}

\title{The Dragonfly Mercury Project: A National Scale Assessment of Mercury
Bioaccumulation and Risk in US National Parks Through a Citizen Science
Framework}



\author[1]{Colleen Flanagan Pritz}%
\author[2]{Collin Eagles-Smith}%
\author[2]{James Willacker}%
\author[3]{Sarah Nelson}%
\author[4]{David Krabbenhoft}%
\author[5]{Celia Chen}%
\author[6]{Joshua Ackerman}%
\author[7]{Evan Grant}%
\author[8]{David Pilliod}%
\author[9]{Katherine Ko}%
\affil[1]{National Park Service}%
\affil[2]{USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center}%
\affil[3]{University of Maine}%
\affil[4]{USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center}%
\affil[5]{Dartmouth College}%
\affil[6]{USGS California Water Science Center Sacramento}%
\affil[7]{US Geological Survey}%
\affil[8]{USGS}%
\affil[9]{National Park Service Air Resources Division}%


\vspace{-1em}



  
  \date{June 05, 2024}


\begingroup
\let\center\flushleft
\let\endcenter\endflushleft
\maketitle
\endgroup





\selectlanguage{english}
\begin{abstract}
The Dragonfly Mercury Project (DMP) is a dynamic national scale program
coupling scientific efforts to understand mercury pollution risks to
protected areas with citizen engagement and education. We conducted a
national-scale assessment of mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in aquatic
ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels and implemented a
carefully designed sampling methodology for citizen scientists to
facilitate biological sampling. We assessed variation in dragonfly Hg
concentrations across \textgreater{}450 sites spanning 100 US national
parks and other protected places and examined intrinsic and extrinsic
factors associated with variation in Hg concentrations. Mercury
concentrations ranged between 10.4-1,411 ng/g across sites and varied
among habitat types. Dragonfly Hg concentrations were up to 1.8-fold
higher in lotic habitats than in lentic habitats, and 37\% higher in
waterbodies with abundant wetlands along their margins than those
without wetlands. Mercury concentrations in dragonflies differed among
families, but were correlated with each other, enabling adjustment to a
consistent family to facilitate spatial comparisons among sampling
units. Dragonfly THg concentrations were positively correlated with THg
in both fish and amphibians from the same locations, indicating that
dragonfly larvae are effective indicators of Hg bioavailability in
aquatic food webs. Using the relationships between dragonfly and fish Hg
concentrations we developed a series of integrated impairment indices
that inform potential risk of Hg exposure to fish, wildlife, and human
health. Most sample sites were in the moderate to low risk category, but
12\% of sites were at high or severe risk for mercury, potentially
causing harm to fish, wildlife, and people who eat those fish and
wildlife. The scope and depth of this work stand it up as a potential
landmark study on mercury in NPS lands and across the landscape,
particularly in light of the citizen science framework under which it
was implemented. More information on the Dragonfly Mercury Project can
be found at https://wim.usgs.gov/geonarrative/dmp/ and
https://www.nps.gov/articles/dragonfly-mercury-project.htm.%
\end{abstract}%



\sloppy




\selectlanguage{english}
\FloatBarrier
\end{document}

