Beginning with tree swallows in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, migrating to penguins in Antarctica, taking a side quest to investigate lead contamination in songbirds in southeast Missouri, and now focusing on invertebrates of the Great Salt Lake, I have studied heavy metal contamination across many ecosystems. Though geographically and taxonomically variable, a central theme of my research has been investigating the trophic transfer of aquatic mercury to terrestrial food webs.