Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Publication Title
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Volume
34
Issue
2
First Page
355
Last Page
359
Abstract
Understanding factors influencing mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in fish is important for examining both ecosystem and human health. However, little is known about how differing ecosystem and biological characteristics can drive Hg bioaccumulation in top predators. The present study compared and contrasted Hg bioaccumulation in multiple age classes of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) collected from each of Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, North Channel, and Main Basin regions. Mercury concentrations exhibited a basin specific pattern with Main Basin fish having the highest average concentration (0.19 ± 0.01 mg/kg), followed by Georgian Bay (0.15 ± 0.02 mg/kg), and North Channel (0.07 ± < 0.01 mg/kg) fish. Age-related increases in Hg concentrations were observed across the 3 basins with North Channel fish exhibiting the slowest rate of Hg bioaccumulation. No significant difference was determined between the relationships describing Hg concentration and age between Main Basin and Georgian Bay fish (p < 0.05). Mercury biomagnification factors (BMF) determined between lake trout and rainbow smelt, lake trout's primary prey, were significantly correlated with fish age and differed across the 3 basins (p < 0.05). Specifically, Georgian Bay fish exhibited the greatest age related increase in Hg BMF followed by Main Basin and North Channel fish, and these differences could not be attributed to trophic level (δ15N) effects or lake trout growth rates. A highly significant negative relationship was determined between Hg BMFs and basin specific prey fish densities indicating that ecological factors associated with food acquisition and foraging efficiencies play an important role in Hg bioaccumulation in feral fish communities. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;9999:1–5. © 2014 SETAC
DOI
10.1002/etc.2810
Recommended Citation
Abma, Rachel A.; Paterson, Gordon; McLeod, Anne; and Haffner, G. Douglas, "Cross-basin comparison of mercury bioaccumulation in Lake Huron lake trout emphasizes ecological characteristics" (2015). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 34, 2, 355-359.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/biologypub/291