EFFECTS OF PLACER MINING DISCHARGE ON HEALTH AND FOOD OF ARCTIC GRAYLING 1

ABSTRACT: During the summers of 1982, 1983, and 1985, we assessed the effects of placer mining sedimentation on Arctic grayling, Thymallus arcticus , in the headwaters of Birch Creek, northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. We compared differences between two streams (one that was undisturbed and one with m...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
Main Authors: Reynolds, James B., Simmons, Rodney C., Burkholder, Alan R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1989
Subjects:
Earth-Surface Processes
Water Science and Technology
Ecology
Arctic
Fairbanks
Arctic grayling
Thymallus arcticus
Alaska
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1989.tb03100.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1752-1688.1989.tb03100.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1989.tb03100.x
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT: During the summers of 1982, 1983, and 1985, we assessed the effects of placer mining sedimentation on Arctic grayling, Thymallus arcticus , in the headwaters of Birch Creek, northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. We compared differences between two streams (one that was undisturbed and one with mining activity upstream) near the confluence. Studies of caged fish demonstrated that, if grayling could not escape from streams carrying mining sediments, they would either die at high rates (sac fry) or suffer gill damage, starvation, and slowed maturation (age‐O fingerlings and age‐2 juveniles). Indirect effects of sedimentation, through loss of summer habitat for feeding and reproduction, may more severely affect grayling populations than the direct effects of sedimentation on the health and survival of individual fish.

Similar Items