Benthic Community and Food Web Structure in Subarctic Lakes in Relation to Mining Disturbance

• Main Author: Bowes, Dylan
• Other Authors: Sibley, Paul
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Guelph 2019
• Subjects: benthic; community; food web; subarctic; lake; mining; gold; isotope analysis; gut content; fish; Arctic; Nunavut; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/15617

In recent years, the exceptional growth in resource extraction activities in the Canadian Arctic has led to concerns about potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Gold is the most commonly extracted resource with several new mines opening in Nunavut since 2010. In this study, I evaluated food web structure in six lakes potentially affected by the Meliadine Gold mine in Nunavut, an area characterized by relatively homogeneous geological and climatic conditions. I hypothesized that the homogeneous attributes of the landscape would yield similarity among lakes with respect to water and sediment chemistry, food web structure (stable isotope analysis), community composition of benthic invertebrates, and the relative condition of fish populations. I found few differences in the above parameters across lakes and between years, supporting this hypothesis. This study provides increased understanding of regional subarctic lake food webs in the context of anthropogenic activity which will be beneficial for designing monitoring programs as industrial activity in the region increases. Mitacs