Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic
This review summarizes our current state of knowledge regarding the potential biological effects of mercury (Hg) exposure on fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic. Although Hg in most freshwater fish from northern Canada was not sufficiently elevated to be of concern, a few lakes in the Northwest...
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Science of the Total Environment
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9411 |
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ftuvicpubl:oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9411 2023-05-15T14:26:20+02:00 Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic Scheuhammer, Anton Braune, Brigit Chan, Hing Man Frouin, Héloïse Krey, Anke Letcher, Robert Loseto, Lisa Noël, Marie Ostertag, Sonja Ross, Peter Wayland, Mark 2015 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9411 en eng Science of the Total Environment Scheuhammer, A., Braune, B., Chan, H.M., Frouin, H., Krey, A., Letcher, R. & Wayland, M. (2015). Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic. Science of the Total Environment, 509-510, 91-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9411 Canadian Arctic Mercury Biological effects Fish Marine mammals Seabirds Article 2015 ftuvicpubl https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 2022-05-19T06:12:50Z This review summarizes our current state of knowledge regarding the potential biological effects of mercury (Hg) exposure on fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic. Although Hg in most freshwater fish from northern Canada was not sufficiently elevated to be of concern, a few lakes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut contained fish of certain species (e.g. northern pike, Arctic char) whose muscle Hg concentrations exceeded an estimated threshold range (0.5–1.0 μg g- 1 wet weight) within which adverse biological effects begin to occur. Marine fish species generally had substantially lower Hg concentrations than freshwater fish; but the Greenland shark, a long-lived predatory species, had mean muscle Hg concentrations exceeding the threshold range for possible effects on health or reproduction. An examination of recent egg Hg concentrations for marine birds from the Canadian Arctic indicated that mean Hg concentration in ivory gulls from Seymour Island fell within the threshold range associated with adverse effects on reproduction in birds. Mercury concentrations in brain tissue of beluga whales and polar bears were generally lower than levels associated with neurotoxicity in mammals, but were sometimes high enough to cause subtle neurochemical changes that can precede overt neurotoxicity. Harbour seals from western Hudson Bay had elevated mean liver Hg concentrations along with comparatively high muscle Hg concentrations indicating potential health effects from methylmercury (MeHg) exposure on this subpopulation. Because current information is generally insufficient to determine with confidence whether Hg exposure is impacting the health of specific fish or wildlife populations in the Canadian Arctic, biological effects studies should comprise a major focus of future Hg research in the Canadian Arctic. Additionally, studies on cellular interactions between Hg and selenium (Se) are required to better account for potential protective effects of Se on Hg toxicity, especially in large predatory Arctic fish, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Beluga Beluga* Greenland Hudson Bay Northern pike Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour Island University of Victoria (Canada): UVicDSpace Arctic Canada Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) Seymour Island ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) Science of The Total Environment 509-510 91 103 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Victoria (Canada): UVicDSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftuvicpubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Canadian Arctic Mercury Biological effects Fish Marine mammals Seabirds |
spellingShingle |
Canadian Arctic Mercury Biological effects Fish Marine mammals Seabirds Scheuhammer, Anton Braune, Brigit Chan, Hing Man Frouin, Héloïse Krey, Anke Letcher, Robert Loseto, Lisa Noël, Marie Ostertag, Sonja Ross, Peter Wayland, Mark Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
topic_facet |
Canadian Arctic Mercury Biological effects Fish Marine mammals Seabirds |
description |
This review summarizes our current state of knowledge regarding the potential biological effects of mercury (Hg) exposure on fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic. Although Hg in most freshwater fish from northern Canada was not sufficiently elevated to be of concern, a few lakes in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut contained fish of certain species (e.g. northern pike, Arctic char) whose muscle Hg concentrations exceeded an estimated threshold range (0.5–1.0 μg g- 1 wet weight) within which adverse biological effects begin to occur. Marine fish species generally had substantially lower Hg concentrations than freshwater fish; but the Greenland shark, a long-lived predatory species, had mean muscle Hg concentrations exceeding the threshold range for possible effects on health or reproduction. An examination of recent egg Hg concentrations for marine birds from the Canadian Arctic indicated that mean Hg concentration in ivory gulls from Seymour Island fell within the threshold range associated with adverse effects on reproduction in birds. Mercury concentrations in brain tissue of beluga whales and polar bears were generally lower than levels associated with neurotoxicity in mammals, but were sometimes high enough to cause subtle neurochemical changes that can precede overt neurotoxicity. Harbour seals from western Hudson Bay had elevated mean liver Hg concentrations along with comparatively high muscle Hg concentrations indicating potential health effects from methylmercury (MeHg) exposure on this subpopulation. Because current information is generally insufficient to determine with confidence whether Hg exposure is impacting the health of specific fish or wildlife populations in the Canadian Arctic, biological effects studies should comprise a major focus of future Hg research in the Canadian Arctic. Additionally, studies on cellular interactions between Hg and selenium (Se) are required to better account for potential protective effects of Se on Hg toxicity, especially in large predatory Arctic fish, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scheuhammer, Anton Braune, Brigit Chan, Hing Man Frouin, Héloïse Krey, Anke Letcher, Robert Loseto, Lisa Noël, Marie Ostertag, Sonja Ross, Peter Wayland, Mark |
author_facet |
Scheuhammer, Anton Braune, Brigit Chan, Hing Man Frouin, Héloïse Krey, Anke Letcher, Robert Loseto, Lisa Noël, Marie Ostertag, Sonja Ross, Peter Wayland, Mark |
author_sort |
Scheuhammer, Anton |
title |
Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the canadian arctic |
publisher |
Science of the Total Environment |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9411 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour Seymour Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour Seymour Island |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Beluga Beluga* Greenland Hudson Bay Northern pike Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Beluga Beluga* Greenland Hudson Bay Northern pike Northwest Territories Nunavut Seymour Island |
op_relation |
Scheuhammer, A., Braune, B., Chan, H.M., Frouin, H., Krey, A., Letcher, R. & Wayland, M. (2015). Recent progress on our understanding of the biological effects of mercury in fish and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic. Science of the Total Environment, 509-510, 91-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9411 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.142 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
509-510 |
container_start_page |
91 |
op_container_end_page |
103 |
_version_ |
1766298850631352320 |