Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in a Subarctic Ringed Seal Food Web in Lake Melville, Northern Labrador, Canada

• Main Author: Xiong, Dingyi
• Other Authors: Lehnherr, Igor, Geography
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Toronto 2021
• Subjects: 0366; Canada; Lake Melville; Labrador Sea; ringed seal; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/108611

A study was carried out on the distribution, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water and ringed seal food web of Lake Melville. The results indicate that short-chain PFAS such as perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) predominates in Lake Melville water. Concentrations of other PFAS are diluted by seawater intrusion from Labrador Sea along the freshwater-marine gradient of this estuary, with freshwater flowing seaward atop of seawater flowing landward. PFBA predominates in freshwater zooplankton, whereas perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) predominates in marine zooplankton, and PFOS bioaccumulates in both freshwater and marine zooplankton. The results also indicate that perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) predominates in fish livers and PFOS and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) predominate in ringed seal livers. Trophic magnification factor values > 1 (range from 1.66 to 7.44 log ng/ g w.w.) showed that long-chain PFCA, PFHxS, and PFOS biomagnify throughout ringed seal food web. M.Sc.