Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes
Resource polymorphism, whereby ancestral trophic generalists undergo divergence into multiple specialist morphs, is common in salmonid fish populations inhabiting subarctic lakes. However, the extent to which such resource specialization into the three principal lake habitats (littoral, profundal, a...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 |
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_15203 2024-09-09T19:27:15+00:00 Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Thomas, Stephen M. Nystedt, Elina K.M. Keva, Ossi Malinen, Tommi Hayden, Brian 2017 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 eng eng Elsevier Science of the Total Environment--Sci. Total Environ.--0048-9697--journals:2614--1879-1026 eawag:15203 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 issn: 0048-9697 journal id: journals:2614 e-issn: 1879-1026 ut: 000405253500071 scopus: 2-s2.0-85019392264 arctic benthic macroinvertebrates gill rakers heavy metals pelagic zooplankton stable isotopes Journal Article 2017 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 2024-08-05T03:04:28Z Resource polymorphism, whereby ancestral trophic generalists undergo divergence into multiple specialist morphs, is common in salmonid fish populations inhabiting subarctic lakes. However, the extent to which such resource specialization into the three principal lake habitats (littoral, profundal, and pelagic) affects patterns of contaminant bioaccumulation remains largely unexplored. We assessed total mercury concentrations (THg) of European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) and their invertebrate prey in relation to potential explanatory variables across 6 subarctic lakes, of which three are inhabited by polymorphic (comprised of four morphs) and three by monomorphic populations. Among invertebrate prey, the highest THg concentrations were observed in profundal benthic macroinvertebrates, followed by pelagic zooplankton, with concentrations lowest in littoral benthic macroinvertebrates in both lake types. Broadly similar patterns were apparent in whitefish in polymorphic systems, where average age-corrected THg concentrations and bioaccumulation rates were the highest in pelagic morphs, intermediate in the profundal morph, and the lowest in the littoral morph. In monomorphic systems, age-corrected THg concentrations were generally lower, and showed pronounced lake-specific variation. In the polymorphic systems, we found significant relationships between whitefish muscle tissue THg concentration and gill raker count, resource use, lipid content and maximum length, whilst no such relationships were apparent in the monomorphic systems. Across all polymorphic lakes, the major variables explaining THg in whitefish were gill raker count and age, whereas in monomorphic systems, the factors were lake-specific. Whitefish resource polymorphism across the three main lake habitats therefore appears to have profound impacts on THg concentration and bioaccumulation rate. This highlights the importance of recognizing such intraspecific diversity in both future scientific studies and mercury monitoring programs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Subarctic Zooplankton DORA Eawag Arctic Science of The Total Environment 599-600 1768 1778 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DORA Eawag |
op_collection_id |
fteawag |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic benthic macroinvertebrates gill rakers heavy metals pelagic zooplankton stable isotopes |
spellingShingle |
arctic benthic macroinvertebrates gill rakers heavy metals pelagic zooplankton stable isotopes Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Thomas, Stephen M. Nystedt, Elina K.M. Keva, Ossi Malinen, Tommi Hayden, Brian Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
topic_facet |
arctic benthic macroinvertebrates gill rakers heavy metals pelagic zooplankton stable isotopes |
description |
Resource polymorphism, whereby ancestral trophic generalists undergo divergence into multiple specialist morphs, is common in salmonid fish populations inhabiting subarctic lakes. However, the extent to which such resource specialization into the three principal lake habitats (littoral, profundal, and pelagic) affects patterns of contaminant bioaccumulation remains largely unexplored. We assessed total mercury concentrations (THg) of European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus (L.)) and their invertebrate prey in relation to potential explanatory variables across 6 subarctic lakes, of which three are inhabited by polymorphic (comprised of four morphs) and three by monomorphic populations. Among invertebrate prey, the highest THg concentrations were observed in profundal benthic macroinvertebrates, followed by pelagic zooplankton, with concentrations lowest in littoral benthic macroinvertebrates in both lake types. Broadly similar patterns were apparent in whitefish in polymorphic systems, where average age-corrected THg concentrations and bioaccumulation rates were the highest in pelagic morphs, intermediate in the profundal morph, and the lowest in the littoral morph. In monomorphic systems, age-corrected THg concentrations were generally lower, and showed pronounced lake-specific variation. In the polymorphic systems, we found significant relationships between whitefish muscle tissue THg concentration and gill raker count, resource use, lipid content and maximum length, whilst no such relationships were apparent in the monomorphic systems. Across all polymorphic lakes, the major variables explaining THg in whitefish were gill raker count and age, whereas in monomorphic systems, the factors were lake-specific. Whitefish resource polymorphism across the three main lake habitats therefore appears to have profound impacts on THg concentration and bioaccumulation rate. This highlights the importance of recognizing such intraspecific diversity in both future scientific studies and mercury monitoring programs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Thomas, Stephen M. Nystedt, Elina K.M. Keva, Ossi Malinen, Tommi Hayden, Brian |
author_facet |
Kahilainen, Kimmo K. Thomas, Stephen M. Nystedt, Elina K.M. Keva, Ossi Malinen, Tommi Hayden, Brian |
author_sort |
Kahilainen, Kimmo K. |
title |
Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
title_short |
Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
title_full |
Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
title_fullStr |
Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic European whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
title_sort |
ecomorphological divergence drives differential mercury bioaccumulation in polymorphic european whitefish ( coregonus lavaretus ) populations of subarctic lakes |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Subarctic Zooplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Subarctic Zooplankton |
op_relation |
Science of the Total Environment--Sci. Total Environ.--0048-9697--journals:2614--1879-1026 eawag:15203 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 issn: 0048-9697 journal id: journals:2614 e-issn: 1879-1026 ut: 000405253500071 scopus: 2-s2.0-85019392264 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.099 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
599-600 |
container_start_page |
1768 |
op_container_end_page |
1778 |
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1809896706248015872 |