Fates of metal radiotracers added to a whole lake: Accumulation in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

1990 ◽  
Vol 52 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 277-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Harrison ◽  
J. F. Klaverkamp ◽  
R. H. Hesslein
1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S1) ◽  
pp. s114-s125 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. H. Mills ◽  
S. M. Chalanchuk ◽  
L. C. Mohr ◽  
I. J. Davies

Lake 223 in the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, was experimentally acidified with sulfuric acid from 1976 (initial average pH 6.49) to 1981 (average pH 5.02), and then maintained at pH 5.02 to 5.13 from 1981 to 1983. Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) were abundant at the onset of acidification. A decline in the abundance of fathead minnow began in 1979 (pH 5.64), and was followed first by a rapid increase in number of pearl dace (Semotilus margarita) in 1980 (pH 5.59) and then a rapid decrease in 1982 (pH 5.09). The abundance of slimy sculpin decreased rapidly in 1979. Abundances of lake trout and white sucker increased during the early years of acidification, but declined following consecutive recruitment failures starting in 1980 for trout and in 1981 for white suckers. By 1982 recruitment had ceased for all Lake 223 fishes. Survival of lake trout [Formula: see text] age 1 decreased in 1982 and 1983, but no other changes in survival of fish [Formula: see text] age 1 were detected for lake trout or white sucker. By spring 1983 many lake trout were emaciated due to losses of the lake trout food organisms. No changes in growth of lake trout and white suckers occurred during the initial years of acidification, but growth of lake trout slowed in 1982 and growth of white sucker increased in 1979.


2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
K H Mills ◽  
S M Chalanchuk ◽  
D J Allan

The fish populations of Lake 223, a lake previously acidified to pH 5.1, were monitored during 13 years of gradual pH recovery to preacidification pH 6.7. During acidification, recruitment ceased for all fish species in this lake and two were extirpated. During pH recovery, successful recruitment resumed for all fish species that remained in the lake. One of the extirpated species, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), successfully colonized the lake. Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) abundance decreased during acidification and remained low during pH recovery due to very low recruitment. Growth curves, condition factor, and annual survival of lake trout decreased during acidification and quickly increased to preacidification values during pH recovery. During the early years of pH recovery, white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) abundance increased to almost 10 times the number at the start of the experiment but decreased during the final years due to decreased annual survival and recruitment. Pearl dace (Margariscus margarita) became abundant during acidification and their abundance decreased during pH recovery as fathead minnow abundance increased. Other fish species that were caught infrequently prior to acidification, brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans), lake chub (Couesius plumbeus), and finescale dace (Phoxinus neogaeus), were caught frequently during pH recovery.


2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1656) ◽  
pp. 20130578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Kidd ◽  
Michael J. Paterson ◽  
Michael D. Rennie ◽  
Cheryl L. Podemski ◽  
Dave L. Findlay ◽  
...  

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in municipal effluents directly affect the sexual development and reproductive success of fishes, but indirect effects on invertebrate prey or fish predators through reduced predation or prey availability, respectively, are unknown. At the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, Canada, a long-term, whole-lake experiment was conducted using a before-after-control-impact design to determine both direct and indirect effects of the synthetic oestrogen used in the birth control pill, 17α-ethynyloestradiol (EE2). Algal, microbial, zooplankton and benthic invertebrate communities showed no declines in abundance during three summers of EE2 additions (5–6 ng l −1 ), indicating no direct toxic effects. Recruitment of fathead minnow ( Pimephales promelas ) failed, leading to a near-extirpation of this species both 2 years during (young-of-year, YOY) and 2 years following (adults and YOY) EE2 additions. Body condition of male lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) and male and female white sucker ( Catostomus commersonii ) declined before changes in prey abundance, suggesting direct effects of EE2 on this endpoint. Evidence of indirect effects of EE2 was also observed. Increases in zooplankton, Chaoborus , and emerging insects were observed after 2 or 3 years of EE2 additions, strongly suggesting indirect effects mediated through the reduced abundance of several small-bodied fishes. Biomass of top predator lake trout declined by 23–42% during and after EE2 additions, most probably an indirect effect from the loss of its prey species, the fathead minnow and slimy sculpin ( Cottus cognatus ). Our results demonstrate that small-scale studies focusing solely on direct effects are likely to underestimate the true environmental impacts of oestrogens in municipal wastewaters and provide further evidence of the value of whole-ecosystem experiments for understanding indirect effects of EDCs and other aquatic stressors.


2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne L. Parrott ◽  
L. Mark Hewitt ◽  
Tibor G. Kovacs ◽  
Deborah L. MacLatchy ◽  
Pierre H. Martel ◽  
...  

Abstract To evaluate currently available bioassays for their use in investigating the causes of pulp and paper mill effluent effects on fish reproduction, the responses of wild white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) collected from the receiving environment at the bleached kraft mill at La Tuque, Quebec, were compared with responses of fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) exposed to effluent in a laboratory lifecycle test. White sucker collected at effluent exposed sites had increased liver size but none of the reproductive effects that had been documented in earlier field studies at this site. Exposure to 1, 3, 10, 30, and 100% bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) in the lab led to significantly decreased length, but increased weight and liver size in male fathead minnow. Female length was also decreased and liver size was increased at high effluent exposures. Most effluent concentrations (1 to 30%) significantly increased egg production compared with controls. The fathead minnow lifecycle assay mirrored the effects seen in wild fish captured downstream of the BKME discharge. These results will be used to select short-term fish tests for investigating the causes of and solutions to the effects of mill effluents on fish reproduction.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105884
Author(s):  
Roxanne Bérubé ◽  
Charles Gauthier ◽  
Thibault Bourdin ◽  
Marilou Bouffard ◽  
Gaëlle Triffault-Bouchet ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alexander Gatch ◽  
Dimitry Gorsky ◽  
Zy Biesinger ◽  
Eric Bruestle ◽  
Kelley Lee ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1031-1038
Author(s):  
C A Stow ◽  
L J Jackson ◽  
J F Amrhein

We examined data from 1984 to 1994 for five species of Lake Michigan salmonids to explore the relationship between total PCB concentration and percent lipid. When we compared mean species lipid and PCB values, we found a strong linear correlation. When we compared values among individuals, we found modest positive PCB:lipid associations in brown trout (Salmo trutta), chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) collected during spawning, but positive associations were not apparent among nonspawning individuals. Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) exhibited no discernible PCB:lipid relationship. Our results are not incompatible with previous observations that contaminants are differentially partitioned into lipids within a fish, but these results do suggest that lipids are not a major factor influencing contaminant uptake.


1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1989-2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Everett Louis King Jr.

Criteria for the classification of marks inflicted by sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) into nine categories were developed from laboratory studies in an attempt to refine the classification system used in field assessment work. These criteria were based on characteristics of the attachment site that could be identified under field conditions by unaided visual means and by touching the attachment site. Healing of these marks was somewhat variable and was influenced by the size of lamprey, duration of attachment, severity of the wound at lamprey detachment, season and water temperature, and by other less obvious factors. Even under laboratory conditions staging of some wounds was difficult, especially at low water temperatures. If these criteria are to be used effectively and with precision in the field, close examination of individual fish may be required. If the feeding and density of specific year-classes of sea lampreys are to be accurately assessed on an annual basis, close attention to the wound size (as it reflects the size of the lamprey's oral disc) and character of wounds on fish will be required as well as consideration of the season of the year in which they are observed.Key words: sea lamprey, attack marks, lake trout, Great Lakes


1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. H. Beamish ◽  
J. C. Howlett ◽  
T. E. Medland

Juvenile lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, of similar size were fed one of three isocaloric diets, each differing in protein and lipid content. Oxygen consumption and swimming performance were measured in a recirculating water flume at intervals throughout the 70-d feeding trials (10 °C). Swimming speed was increased by stepwise velocity increments (5 cm∙s−1) and oxygen consumption was measured at each velocity between 20 and 45 cm∙s−1. Oxygen consumption for a given speed did not differ significantly throughout the feeding trial nor among the diets implying a similarity in the quality and quantity of substrate catabolized for energy. Basal metabolism (0 cm∙s−1) was also independent of diet and feeding interval. Critical swimming speed increased with dietary and carcass protein content to suggest a direct association with muscle mass and number of myofilaments.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1299-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert France

The purpose of the present study was to determine if riparian deforestation would expose lake surfaces to stronger winds and therefore bring about deepening of thermoclines and resulting habitat losses for cold stenotherms such as lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Removal of protective riparian trees through wind blowdown and two wildfires was found to triple the overwater windspeeds and produce thermocline deepening in two lakes at the Experimental Lakes Area. A survey of thermal stratification patterns in 63 northwestern Ontario lakes showed that lakes around which riparian trees had been removed a decade before through either clearcutting or by a wildfire were found to have thermocline depths over 2 m deeper per unit fetch length compared with lakes surrounded by mature forests. Riparian tree removal will therefore exacerbate hypolimnion habitat losses for cold stenotherms that have already been documented to be occurring as a result of lake acidification, eutrophication, and climate warming.


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