Date of Award

2009

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.Sc.

Department

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research

Keywords

Chemistry, Environmental.

Supervisor

Loeb, Stephen (Chemistry & Biochemistry) Drouillard, Kenneth (Biological Sciences) Haffner, G. (Biological Sciences)

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

This thesis investigated the effects of temperature and chemical hydrophobicity on steady and non-steady state bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls over the lifetime of temperate freshwater fish. In Chapter 2, the elimination of congeners of logKow < 5.7 by yellow perch (Perca flavescens) was regulated by temperature-dependant metabolic rates. Congeners of logKow > 5.7 however, were not significantly eliminated at any temperature commonly encountered by temperate fishes. It was concluded that the bioaccumulation of congeners of logKow > 5.7 is regulated by energetically driven consumption rates. This conclusion was confirmed in Chapter 3, where it was determined that the majority of congeners of logKow > 6.8 did not achieve steady state within the lifetime of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) or cisco (Coregonus artedii). The bioaccumulation of low Kow congeners was determined to be a function of temperature-driven physiological processes whereas high Kow congeners were related to ecological processes.

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