WSU student studies the effect of pH on bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of selenium in a northern Washington lake

A PhD candidate from the School of the Environment at WSU is conducting part of his research at the USTUR’s radiochemistry laboratory. Alexander Reyes is studying the amount of selenium in organisms collected from Omak Lake, the largest saltwater lake in Washington State. The lake is highly alkaline, which highly favors production of selenate ions in surface waters. Mr. Reyes’ research will assess the uptake of and bioaccumulation of selenium in organisms through different trophic levels of the food web, including various types of zooplankton, midges, invertebrates, and fish. Samples collected from Omak Lake were acid digested at the USTUR’s laboratory in preparation for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis at WSU’s GeoAnalytical Lab in Pullman, WA.