Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada
Mercury concentrations in freshwater and marine biota are an ongoing concern, even in areas remote from local point sources, such as in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. Anadromous Arctic charr, which feed in the marine environment, have lower mercury concentrations than non-anadromous Arctic char...
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ftunivwaterloo:oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/6800 2023-05-15T14:29:41+02:00 Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada van der Velden, Shannon 2012 http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6800 en eng University of Waterloo http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6800 Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus anadromy biomagnification methylmercury mercury lacustrine marine Biology Master Thesis 2012 ftunivwaterloo 2022-06-18T22:59:25Z Mercury concentrations in freshwater and marine biota are an ongoing concern, even in areas remote from local point sources, such as in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. Anadromous Arctic charr, which feed in the marine environment, have lower mercury concentrations than non-anadromous Arctic charr, which feed strictly in freshwater, but the two life-history forms have rarely been studied together, and the mechanisms driving the difference are unclear. Here, data from nine pairs of closely-located anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr populations were used to explore the impact of biological and life-history factors on individual total mercury concentration ([THg]) across a range of latitudes (49 – 81° N) in eastern Canada. From six of these sampling locations, additional samples of lower trophic level biota (i.e., algae, invertebrates, and forage fishes) were obtained in order to investigate patterns of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) biomagnification in the marine and lacustrine foodwebs supporting Arctic charr. Arctic charr mean [THg] ranged from 20 to 114 ng/g wet weight (ww) in anadromous populations, and was significantly higher in non-anadromous populations (all p < 0.01), ranging from 111 to 227 ng/g ww. Within-population variations in Arctic charr [THg] were best explained by fish age, and were also positively related to fork-length and δ15N-inferred trophic level. Across all sampling sites, the relationship between Arctic charr [THg] and fish age was significant and statistically similar in both life-history types, but only the non-anadromous fish demonstrated a significant relationship with trophic level. Fork-length and site latitude did not explain significant additional variation in Arctic charr [THg] across sampling locations. Trophic magnification factors were 1.98 – 5.19 for THg and 3.02 – 6.69 for MeHg in lacustrine foodwebs, and 1.59 – 2.82 for THg and 2.72 – 5.70 for MeHg in marine foodwebs, and did not differ significantly between the two feeding habitats for either ... Master Thesis Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus University of Waterloo, Canada: Institutional Repository Arctic Canada |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Waterloo, Canada: Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwaterloo |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus anadromy biomagnification methylmercury mercury lacustrine marine Biology |
spellingShingle |
Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus anadromy biomagnification methylmercury mercury lacustrine marine Biology van der Velden, Shannon Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
topic_facet |
Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus anadromy biomagnification methylmercury mercury lacustrine marine Biology |
description |
Mercury concentrations in freshwater and marine biota are an ongoing concern, even in areas remote from local point sources, such as in the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. Anadromous Arctic charr, which feed in the marine environment, have lower mercury concentrations than non-anadromous Arctic charr, which feed strictly in freshwater, but the two life-history forms have rarely been studied together, and the mechanisms driving the difference are unclear. Here, data from nine pairs of closely-located anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr populations were used to explore the impact of biological and life-history factors on individual total mercury concentration ([THg]) across a range of latitudes (49 – 81° N) in eastern Canada. From six of these sampling locations, additional samples of lower trophic level biota (i.e., algae, invertebrates, and forage fishes) were obtained in order to investigate patterns of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) biomagnification in the marine and lacustrine foodwebs supporting Arctic charr. Arctic charr mean [THg] ranged from 20 to 114 ng/g wet weight (ww) in anadromous populations, and was significantly higher in non-anadromous populations (all p < 0.01), ranging from 111 to 227 ng/g ww. Within-population variations in Arctic charr [THg] were best explained by fish age, and were also positively related to fork-length and δ15N-inferred trophic level. Across all sampling sites, the relationship between Arctic charr [THg] and fish age was significant and statistically similar in both life-history types, but only the non-anadromous fish demonstrated a significant relationship with trophic level. Fork-length and site latitude did not explain significant additional variation in Arctic charr [THg] across sampling locations. Trophic magnification factors were 1.98 – 5.19 for THg and 3.02 – 6.69 for MeHg in lacustrine foodwebs, and 1.59 – 2.82 for THg and 2.72 – 5.70 for MeHg in marine foodwebs, and did not differ significantly between the two feeding habitats for either ... |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
van der Velden, Shannon |
author_facet |
van der Velden, Shannon |
author_sort |
van der Velden, Shannon |
title |
Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
title_short |
Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
title_full |
Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
title_fullStr |
Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from eastern Canada |
title_sort |
factors affecting mercury concentrations in anadromous and non-anadromous arctic charr (salvelinus alpinus) from eastern canada |
publisher |
University of Waterloo |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6800 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada |
genre |
Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
genre_facet |
Arctic charr Arctic Salvelinus alpinus |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6800 |
_version_ |
1766303627111038976 |