Basal mercury concentrations and biomagnification rates in freshwater and marine food webs: Effects on Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada

Science of the Total Environment

Volumn 444, Issue , 2013, Pages 531-542

  van der Velden, S ^a   Dempson, J B ^b   Evans, M S ^c   Muir, D C G ^c   Power, M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO   (Canada)

^b FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA   (Canada)

^c ENVIRONMENT CANADA   (Canada)

Author keywords

Arctic charr; Biomagnification; Lacustrine; Marine; Mercury; Methylmercury

Indexed keywords

ARCTIC CHARR; BIOMAGNIFICATION; LACUSTRINE; MARINE; METHYL MERCURY;

ECOSYSTEMS; MERCURY COMPOUNDS;

MERCURY (METAL);

MERCURY; METHYLMERCURY;

CONCENTRATION (COMPOSITION); FOOD WEB; LACUSTRINE ENVIRONMENT; MARINE ENVIRONMENT; MERCURY (ELEMENT); METHYLMERCURY; PREDATOR; SALMONID;

AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT; ARTICLE; CANADA; CONCENTRATION (PARAMETERS); FISH; FOOD WEB; FRESHWATER ENVIRONMENT; FRESHWATER SPECIES; HABITAT; MARINE ENVIRONMENT; MARINE SPECIES; MERCURIALISM; NONHUMAN; PREDATOR; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SALVELINUS ALPINUS; TROPHIC LEVEL;

ANIMALS; CANADA; FOOD CHAIN; FRESH WATER; MERCURY; METHYLMERCURY COMPOUNDS; TROUT; WATER POLLUTANTS, CHEMICAL;

CANADA;

SALVELINUS ALPINUS; SALVELINUS FONTINALIS;

EID: 84871947946     PISSN: 00489697     EISSN: 18791026     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.11.099     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. AMAP/UNEP Technical background report to the global atmospheric mercury assessment. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme/United Nations Environment Programme, Chemicals Branch 2008, 159.
2. Atwell L., Hobson K.A., Welch H.E. Biomagnification and bioaccumulation of mercury in an arctic marine food web: insights from stable nitrogen isotope analysis. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 1998, 55:1114-1121.
3. Back R.C., Gorski P.R., Cleckner L.B., Hurley J.P. Mercury content and speciation in the plankton and benthos of Lake Superior. Sci Total Environ 2003, 304:349-354.
4. Barkay T., Gillman M., Turner R. Effects of dissolved organic carbon and salinity on bioavailability of mercury. Appl Environ Microbiol 1997, 63:4267-4271.
5. Bloom N.S. On the chemical form of mercury in edible fish and marine invertebrate tissue. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 1992, 49:1010-1017.
6. Borgå K., Kidd K.A., Muir D.C., Berglund O., Conder J.M., Gobas F.A., et al. Trophic magnification factors: considerations of ecology, ecosystems, and study design. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2012, 8:64-84.
7. Bowles K.C., Apte S.C., Maher W.A., Kawei M., Smith R. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury in Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 2001, 58:888-897.
8. Broman D., Näf C., Rolff C., Zebühr Y., Fry B., Hobbie J. Using ratios of stable nitrogen isotopes to estimate bioaccumulation and flux of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in two food chains from the northern Baltic. Environ Toxicol Chem 1992, 11:331-345.
9. Bruce W.J., Spencer K.D. Mercury levels in Labrador fish. Can Ind Rep Fish Aquat Sci 1979, 111:1977-1978. (iv-12).
10. Campbell L.M., Norstrom R.J., Hobson K.A., Muir D.C.G., Backus S., Fisk A.T. Mercury and other trace elements in a pelagic Arctic marine food web (Northwater Polynya, Baffin Bay). Sci Total Environ 2005, 351-352:247-263.
11. Chetelat J., Amyot M. Elevated methylmercury in high Arctic Daphnia and the role of productivity in controlling their distribution. Glob Change Biol 2009, 15:706-718.
12. Chetelat J., Amyot M., Cloutier L., Poulain A. Metamorphosis in chironomids, more than mercury supply, controls methylmercury transfer to fish in high Arctic lakes. Environ Sci Technol 2008, 42:9110-9115.
13. Chumchal M.M., Drenner R.W., Fry B., Hambright K.D., Newland L.W. Habitat-specific differences in mercury concentration in a top predator from a shallow lake. Trans Am Fish Soc 2008, 137:195-208.
14. Chumchal M.M., Rainwater T.R., Osborn S.C., Roberts A.P., Abel M.T., Cobb G.P., et al. Mercury speciation and biomagnification in the food web of Caddo Lake, Texas and Louisiana, USA, a subtropical freshwater ecosystem. Environ Toxicol Chem 2011, 30:1153-1162.
15. Dempson J.B., Shears M., Bloom M. Spatial and temporal variability in the diet of anadromous Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, in northern Labrador. Environ Biol Fish 2002, 64:49-62.
16. Dietz R., Basu N., Braune B., O'Hara T., Scheuhammer T., Sonne C. What are the toxicological effects of mercury in Arctic biota?. AMAP Assessment 2011: Mercury in the Arctic 2011, 113-137. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
17. Doucett R.R., Power M., Power G., Caron F., Reist J.D. Evidence for anadromy in a southern relict population of Arctic charr from North America. J Fish Biol 1999, 55:84-93.
18. Douglas T., Amyot M., Barkay T., Berg T., Chételat J., Constant P., et al. What is the fate of mercury entering the Arctic environment?. AMAP Assessment 2011: mercury in the Arctic 2011, 45-65. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
19. Evans M.S., Lockhart W.L., Doetzel L., Low G., Muir D., Kidd K., et al. Elevated mercury concentrations in fish in lakes in the Mackenzie River Basin: the role of physical, chemical, and biological factors. Sci Total Environ 2005, 351-352:479-500.
20. Evans M.S., Muir D., Lockhart W.L., Stern G.A., Ryan M., Roach P. Persistent organic pollutants and metals in the freshwater biota of the Canadian Subarctic and Arctic: an overview. Sci Total Environ 2005, 351-352:94-147.
21. Fisk A.T., Hobson K.A., Norstrom R.J. Influence of chemical and biological factors on trophic transfer of persistent organic pollutants in the Northwater Polynya marine food web. Environ Sci Technol 2001, 35:732-738.
22. Gantner N., Power M., Babaluk J.A., Reist J.D., Koeck G., Lockhart L.W., et al. Temporal trends of mercury, cesium, potassium, selenium, and thallium in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Lake Hazen, Nunavut, Canada: effects of trophic position, size, and age. Environ Toxicol Chem 2009, 28:254-263.
23. Gantner N., Power M., Iqaluk D., Meili M., Borg H., Sundbom M., et al. Mercury concentrations in landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian Arctic. Part I: insights from trophic relationships in 18 lakes. Environ Toxicol Chem 2010, 29:621-632.
24. Gantner N., Muir D., Power M., Iqaluk D., Reist J.D., Babaluk J.A., et al. Mercury concentrations in landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian Arctic. Part II: influence of lake biotic and abiotic characteristics on geographic trends in 27 populations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2010, 29:633-643.
25. Gantner N., Veillette J., Michaud W.K., Bajno R., Muir D., Vincent W.F., et al. Physical and biological factors affecting mercury and perfluorinated contaminants in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) of Pingualuit Crater Lake (Nunavik, Canada). Arctic 2012, 65:195-206.
26. Grey J., Thackeray S.J., Jones R.I., Shine A. Ferox trout (Salmo trutta) as 'Russian dolls': complementary gut content and stable isotope analyses of the Loch Ness foodweb. Freshw Biol 2002, 47:1235-1243.
27. Guelinckx J., Dehairs F., Ollevier F. Effect of digestion on the δ13C and δ15N of fish gut contents. J Fish Biol 2008, 72:301-309.
28. Guiguer K.R.R.A., Reist J.D., Power M., Babaluk J.A. Using stable isotopes to confirm the trophic ecology of Arctic charr morphotypes from Lake Hazen, Nunavut, Canada. J Fish Biol 2002, 60:348-362.
29. Hall B.D., Bodaly R.A., Fudge R.J.P., Rudd J.W.M., Rosenberg D.M. Food as the dominant pathway of methylmercury uptake by fish. Water Air Soil Pollut 1997, 100:13-24.
30. Hammerschmidt C.R., Fitzgerald W.F., Lamborg C.H., Balcom P.H., Mao Tseng C. Biogeochemical cycling of methylmercury in lakes and tundra watersheds of Arctic Alaska. Environ Sci Technol 2006, 40:1204-1211.
31. Hop H., Borgå K., Gabrielsen G.W., Kleivane L., Skaare J.U. Food web magnification of persistent organic pollutants in poikilotherms and homeotherms from the Barents Sea. Environ Sci Technol 2002, 36:2589-2597.
32. Jæger I., Hop H., Gabrielsen G.W. Biomagnification of mercury in selected species from an Arctic marine food web in Svalbard. Sci Total Environ 2009, 407:4744-4751.
33. Jardine T.D., Kidd K.A., Fisk A.T. Applications, considerations, and sources of uncertainty when using stable isotope analysis in ecotoxicology. Environ Sci Technol 2006, 40:7501-7511.
34. Johnson L. The Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus. Charrs: Salmonid fishes of the genus Salvelinus 1980, 15-98. Dr. W. Junk, The Hague. E.K. Balon (Ed.).
35. Kidd K., Hesslein R., Fudge R., Hallard K. The influence of trophic level as measured by δ 15 N on mercury concentrations in freshwater organisms. Water Air Soil Pollut 1995, 80:1011-1015.
36. Kirk J.L., Louis V.L.S., Hintelmann H., Lehnherr I., Else B., Poissant L. Methylated mercury species in marine waters of the Canadian high and sub Arctic. Environ Sci Technol 2008, 42:8367-8373.
37. Klemetsen A., Amundsen P., Dempson J.B., Jonsson B., Jonsson N., O'Connell M.F., et al. Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L., brown trout Salmo trutta L. and Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus (L.): a review of aspects of their life histories. Ecol Freshw Fish 2003, 12:1-59.
38. Lasorsa B., Allen-Gil S. The methylmercury to total mercury ratio in selected marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms. Water Air Soil Pollut 1995, 80:905-913.
39. Lavoie R.A., Hebert C.E., Rail J., Braune B.M., Yumvihoze E., Hill L.G., et al. Trophic structure and mercury distribution in a Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada) food web using stable isotope analysis. Sci Total Environ 2010, 408:5529-5539.
40. Lehnherr I., St.Louis V.L., Hintelmann H., Kirk J.L. Methylation of inorganic mercury in polar marine waters. Nat Geosci 2011, 4:298-302.
41. Leopold K., Foulkes M., Worsfold P. Methods for the determination and speciation of mercury in natural waters-a review. Anal Chim Acta 2010, 663:127-138.
42. Lepak J.M., Robinson J.M., Kraft C.E., Josephson D.C. Changes in mercury bioaccumulation in an apex predator in response to removal of an introduced competitor. Ecotoxicology 2009, 18:488-498.
43. Lockhart W.L., Stern G.A., Low G., Hendzel M., Boila G., Roach P., et al. A history of total mercury in edible muscle of fish from lakes in northern Canada. Sci Total Environ 2005, 351-352:427-463.
44. Loseto L.L., Lean D.R.S., Siciliano S.D. Snowmelt sources of methylmercury to high arctic ecosystems. Environ Sci Technol 2004, 38:3004-3010.
45. Loseto L.L., Siciliano S.D., Lean D.R.S. Methylmercury production in high Arctic wetlands. Environ Toxicol Chem 2004, 23:17-23.
46. Loseto L.L., Stern G., Deibel D., Connelly T., Prokopowicz A., Lean D., et al. Linking mercury exposure to habitat and feeding behaviour in Beaufort Sea beluga whales. J Mar Syst 2008, 74:1012-1024.
47. Mason R., Reinfelder J., Morel F. Bioaccumulation of mercury and methylmercury. Water Air Soil Pollut 1995, 80:915-921.
48. Mason R.P., Heyes D., Sveinsdottir A. Methylmercury concentrations in fish from tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2006, 51:425-437.
49. McCutchan J.H., Lewis W.M., Kendall C., McGrath C.C. Variation in trophic shift for stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Oikos 2003, 378-390.
50. Mergler D., Anderson H.A., Chan L.H.M., Mahaffey K.R., Murray M., Sakamoto M., et al. Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern. Ambio 2007, 36:3-11.
51. Morel F.M.M., Kraepiel A.M.L., Amyot M. The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 1998, 543-566.
52. Muir D., Wang X., Bright D., Lockhart L., Kock G. Spatial and temporal trends of mercury and other metals in landlocked char from lakes in the Canadian Arctic archipelago. Sci Total Environ 2005, 351-352:464-478.
53. Munthe J., Goodsite M., Berg T., Chételat J., Cole A., Dastoor A., et al. Where does mercury in the Arctic environment come from, and how does it get there?. AMAP Assessment 2011: mercury in the Arctic 2011, 9-44. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
54. Nfon E., Cousins I.T., Järvinen O., Mukherjee A.B., Verta M., Broman D. Trophodynamics of mercury and other trace elements in a pelagic food chain from the Baltic Sea. Sci Total Environ 2009, 407:6267-6274.
55. Pacyna E.G., Pacyna J.M., Sundseth K., Munthe J., Kindbom K., Wilson S., et al. Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020. Atmos Environ 2010, 44:2487-2499.
56. Peterson B.J. Stable isotopes as tracers of organic matter input and transfer in benthic food webs: a review. Acta Oecol 1999, 20:479-487.
57. Peterson B.J., Fry B. Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 1987, 18:293-320.
58. Pickhardt P.C., Fisher N.S. Accumulation of inorganic and methylmercury by freshwater phytoplankton in two contrasting water bodies. Environ Sci Technol 2007, 41:125-131.
59. Pinheiro J.C., Bates D.M. Mixed-effects models in S and S-PLUS 2000, Springer, New York.
60. Post D.M. Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic position: Models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology 2002, 83:703-718.
61. Power M., Klein G.M., Guiguer K.R.R.A., Kwan M.K.H. Mercury accumulation in the fish community of a sub-Arctic lake in relation to trophic position and carbon sources. J Appl Ecol 2002, 39:819-830.
62. Power M., Reist J.D., Dempson J.B. Fish in high-latitude Arctic lakes. Polar lakes and rivers limnology of Arctic and Antarctic aquatic ecosystems 2008, 249-268. Oxford University Press, Oxford. W.F. Vincent, J. Laybourn-Parry (Eds.).
63. R Development Core Team R: a language and environment for statistical computing 2009, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, (URL;http://www.r-project.org).
64. Ratkowsky D.A. Handbook of nonlinear regression models 1990, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, NY.
65. Reist J.D., Wrona F.J., Prowse T.D., Power M., Dempson J.B., King J.R., et al. An overview of effects of climate change on selected Arctic freshwater and anadromous fishes. Ambio 2006, 35:381-387.
66. Riget F., Asmund G., Aastrup P. Mercury in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) populations from Greenland. Sci Total Environ 2000, 245:161-172.
67. Riget F., Dietz R., Vorkamp K., Johansen P., Muir D. Levels and spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in Greenland biota: an updated review. Sci Total Environ 2004, 331:29-52.
68. Riget F., Moller P., Dietz R., Nielsen T., Asmund G., Strand J., et al. Transfer of mercury in the marine food web of West Greenland. J Environ Monit 2007, 9:877-883.
69. Rikardsen A.H., Amundsen P.A., Bjørn P.A., Johansen M. Comparison of growth, diet and food consumption of sea-run and lake-dwelling Arctic charr. J Fish Biol 2000, 57:1172-1188.
70. Rikardsen A.H., Amundsen P.A., Bodin P.J. Growth and diet of anadromous Arctic charr after their return to freshwater. Ecol Freshwat Fish 2003, 12:74-80.
71. Rognerud S., Grimalt J.O., Rosseland B.O., Fernandez P., Hofer R., Lackner R., et al. Mercury and organochlorine contamination in brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from high mountain lakes in Europe and the Svalbard Archipelago. Water Air Soil Pollut 2002, 2:209-232.
72. Rose J., Hutcheson M.S., West C.R., Pancorbo O., Hulme K., Cooperman A., et al. Fish mercury distribution in Massachusetts,USA lakes. Environ Toxicol Chem 1999, 18:1370-1379.
73. Scheuhammer A.M., Meyer M.W., Sandheinrich M.B., Murray M.W. Effects of environmental methylmercury on the health of wild birds, mammals, and fish. Ambio 2007, 36:12-18.
74. Semkin R.G., Mierle G., Neureuther R.J. Hydrochemistry and mercury cycling in a High Arctic watershed. Sci Total Environ 2005, 342:199-221.
75. St.Louis V.L., Sharp M.J., Steffen A., May A., Barker J., Kirk J.L., et al. Some sources and sinks of monomethyl and inorganic mercury on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian high Arctic. Environ Sci Technol 2005, 39:2686-2701.
76. St.Louis V.L., Hintelmann H., Graydon J.A., Kirk J.L., Barker J., Dimock B., et al. Methylated mercury species in Canadian high Arctic marine surface waters and snowpacks. Environ Sci Technol 2007, 41:6433-6441.
77. Stow J., Krümmel E., Leech T., Donaldson S., Hansen J.C., Van Oostdam J., et al. What is the impact of mercury contamination on human health in the Arctic?. AMAP Assessment 2011: mercury in the Arctic 2011, 159-169. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway.
78. Swanson H.K., Kidd K.A. Mercury concentrations in Arctic food fishes reflect the presence of anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), species, and life history. Environ Sci Technol 2010, 44:3286-3292.
79. Swanson H.K., Johnston T.A., Leggett W.C., Bodaly R.A., Doucett R.R., Cunjak R.A. Trophic positions and mercury bioaccumulation in rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and native forage fishes in northwestern Ontario lakes. Ecosystems 2003, 6:289-299.
80. Swanson H.K., Kidd K.A., Reist J.D., Trudel M. Quantifying importance of marine prey in the diets of two partially anadromous fishes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 2011, 68:2020-2028.
81. Swanson H., Gantner N., Kidd K.A., Muir D.C.G., Reist J.D. Comparison of mercury concentrations in landlocked, resident, and sea-run fish (Salvelinus spp.) from Nunavut, Canada. Environ Toxicol Chem 2011, 30:1459-1467.
82. Tieszen L., Boutton T., Tesdahl K., Slade N. Fractionation and turnover of stable carbon isotopes in animal tissues: Implications for δ13C analysis of diet. Oecologia 1983, 57:32-37.
83. U.S.Environmental Protection Agency Method 7473: mercury in solids and solutions by thermal decomposition, amalgamation, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry 2007, (http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/7473.pdf; downloaded August 18, 2011).
84. Ullrich S.M., Tanton T.W., Abdrashitova S.A. Mercury in the aquatic environment: a review of factors affecting methylation. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 2001, 31:241-293.
85. van der Velden S., Reist J.D., Babaluk J.A., Power M. Biological and life-history factors affecting total mercury concentrations in Arctic charr from Heintzelman Lake, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Sci Total Environ 2012, 433:309-317.
86. van der Velden S, Evans MS, Dempson JB, Muir DCG, Power M. Comparative analysis of total mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada. Sci Total Environ, this issue.
87. Van Oostdam J., Donaldson S., Feeley M., Arnold D., Ayotte P., Bondy G., et al. Human health implications of environmental contaminants in Arctic Canada: a review. Sci Total Environ 2005, 351:165-246.
88. Vander Zanden M.J., Rasmussen J.B. Variation in delta N-15 and delta C-13 trophic fractionation: Implications for aquatic food web studies. Limnol Oceanogr 2001, 46:2061-2066.
89. Vanderklift M.A., Ponsard S. Sources of variation in consumer-diet δ15N enrichment: a meta-analysis. Oecologia 2003, 136:169-182.
90. Ward D.M., Nislow K.H., Chen C.Y., Folt C.L. Rapid, efficient growth reduces mercury concentrations in stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon. Trans Am Fish Soc 2010, 139:1-10.
91. Watras C., Back R., Halvorsen S., Hudson R., Morrison K., Wente S. Bioaccumulation of mercury in pelagic freshwater food webs. Sci Total Environ 1998, 219:183-208.
92. Wyn B., Kidd K.A., Burgess N.M., Curry R.A. Mercury biomagnification in the food webs of acidic lakes in Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, Nova Scotia. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 2009, 66:1532-1545.
93. Zar J.H. Biostatistical analysis Upper Saddle River 2010, Prentice Hall, N.J.