Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands
Responses to chemical and physical stressors are commonly expected among organisms residing near the Athabasca oil sands. Physiological effects have been observed in fishes during field studies; but further effects associated with development are not clear or consistent among species. For instance,...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2017
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0028 https://doaj.org/article/abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f 2023-05-15T14:31:23+02:00 Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands Tim J. Arciszewski Kelly R. Munkittrick Bruce W. Kilgour Heather M. Keith Janice E. Linehan Mark E. McMaster 2017-10-01 https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0028 https://doaj.org/article/abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f en eng Canadian Science Publishing doi:10.1139/facets-2017-0028 2371-1671 https://doaj.org/article/abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f undefined FACETS, Vol 2, Pp 833-858 (2017) oil sands Athabasca adaptive monitoring fish environmental effects envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2017 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0028 2023-01-22T17:51:31Z Responses to chemical and physical stressors are commonly expected among organisms residing near the Athabasca oil sands. Physiological effects have been observed in fishes during field studies; but further effects associated with development are not clear or consistent among species. For instance, data from a fish fence in 2009 show declines in the relative abundances of some species, including Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). In contrast, increases were seen in white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). This divergence suggests incomplete understanding of the status of fishes residing near the oil sands. However, an important challenge limiting understanding is the lack of reliable baseline or reference data. To overcome this challenge, we used iterative normal ranges and a historical data set (electrofishing surveys done from 1987 to 2014) to determine if changes have occurred in fishes captured in the lower Athabasca River. These analyses revealed clear increases in the lengths of white sucker and walleye (Sander vitreus) and their relative abundances during the spawning season. The occurrence of these changes may be associated with overwintering location, but reduced fishing pressure in Lake Athabasca, eutrophication, or a cumulative effect may explain the form of changes detected in this study. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic grayling Arctic Athabasca River Lake Athabasca Thymallus arcticus Unknown Arctic Athabasca River FACETS 2 2 833 858 |
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English |
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oil sands Athabasca adaptive monitoring fish environmental effects envir geo |
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oil sands Athabasca adaptive monitoring fish environmental effects envir geo Tim J. Arciszewski Kelly R. Munkittrick Bruce W. Kilgour Heather M. Keith Janice E. Linehan Mark E. McMaster Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
topic_facet |
oil sands Athabasca adaptive monitoring fish environmental effects envir geo |
description |
Responses to chemical and physical stressors are commonly expected among organisms residing near the Athabasca oil sands. Physiological effects have been observed in fishes during field studies; but further effects associated with development are not clear or consistent among species. For instance, data from a fish fence in 2009 show declines in the relative abundances of some species, including Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). In contrast, increases were seen in white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). This divergence suggests incomplete understanding of the status of fishes residing near the oil sands. However, an important challenge limiting understanding is the lack of reliable baseline or reference data. To overcome this challenge, we used iterative normal ranges and a historical data set (electrofishing surveys done from 1987 to 2014) to determine if changes have occurred in fishes captured in the lower Athabasca River. These analyses revealed clear increases in the lengths of white sucker and walleye (Sander vitreus) and their relative abundances during the spawning season. The occurrence of these changes may be associated with overwintering location, but reduced fishing pressure in Lake Athabasca, eutrophication, or a cumulative effect may explain the form of changes detected in this study. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tim J. Arciszewski Kelly R. Munkittrick Bruce W. Kilgour Heather M. Keith Janice E. Linehan Mark E. McMaster |
author_facet |
Tim J. Arciszewski Kelly R. Munkittrick Bruce W. Kilgour Heather M. Keith Janice E. Linehan Mark E. McMaster |
author_sort |
Tim J. Arciszewski |
title |
Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
title_short |
Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
title_full |
Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
title_fullStr |
Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the Athabasca oil sands |
title_sort |
increased size and relative abundance of migratory fishes observed near the athabasca oil sands |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0028 https://doaj.org/article/abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f |
geographic |
Arctic Athabasca River |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Athabasca River |
genre |
Arctic grayling Arctic Athabasca River Lake Athabasca Thymallus arcticus |
genre_facet |
Arctic grayling Arctic Athabasca River Lake Athabasca Thymallus arcticus |
op_source |
FACETS, Vol 2, Pp 833-858 (2017) |
op_relation |
doi:10.1139/facets-2017-0028 2371-1671 https://doaj.org/article/abd1aaf077914ddfaa035b8a4a35738f |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0028 |
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FACETS |
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2 |
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2 |
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833 |
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858 |
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1766305040024207360 |