Contaminant levels in St. Lawrence River yellow perch (Perca flavescens): spatial variation and implications for monitoring

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2930-2946 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Ion ◽  
Y de Lafontaine ◽  
P Dumont ◽  
L Lapierre
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metal ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Power Level ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Bioaccumulation Factor ◽  
Maximum Difference ◽  
Pcb Congeners ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Power Analyses ◽  
St Lawrence River

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) (n = 50) were collected from five geographic sectors between 1991 and 1992 to assess the spatial variability in trace metal and PCB (10 congeners) levels along the St. Lawrence River. Spatial differences among the five sectors were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and were significant only for PCBs. Both Hg and total congener concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with fish age, but not with mass or length. The relative proportions of the PCB congeners did not vary among sites. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF) of 3700 for total congeners compared favourably with previously reported results. Since 1975, Hg and PCB levels in St. Lawrence River yellow perch have decreased by factors of 2-3 and 30, respectively. Power analyses revealed that future monitoring studies may require large sample sizes to successfully detect the small spatial differences found for many contaminants. For example, to detect, at a power level of 90%, a 33% difference in Hg levels in yellow perch (i.e., the maximum difference found in this study) among the five sectors, 80 fish per sector would be required.

RNA-sequencing to assess the health of wild yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from the St. Lawrence River, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 243 ◽  
pp. 1657-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel A. Defo ◽  
Mélanie Douville ◽  
Maeva Giraudo ◽  
Philippe Brodeur ◽  
Monique Boily ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
St Lawrence River

A 50-yr Record of Pollution by Nutrients, Trace Metals, and Organic Chemicals in the St Lawrence River

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1088-1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Carignan ◽  
Stéphane Lorrain ◽  
Ken Lum
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Trace Metal ◽  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Organic Chemicals ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Pcb Congeners ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
St Lawrence River

The deposition chronology of algal pigments, organic C, N, P, trace metals, and organic contaminants (PCB congeners, DDD, DDE, Mirex, hexachlorobenzene) is described for two sites in fluvial lakes (St. Francis and St. Louis) of the St. Lawrence River. Pigment concentrations rapidly decrease in the top 10 cm due to degradation, but show a broad secondary peak consistent with higher primary productivity between 1960 and 1975. In Lake St. Francis, deposition of organic C, N, and P peaked between 1950 and 1975. In both lakes, trace metal concentrations reached maximum values between 1960 and 1970 and decreased considerably between 1970 and 1980. At both sites, surficial trace metal concentrations are approaching (within a factor of 3) those observed in preindustrial sediments except Cd, which is still 5–6 times higher. Concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn are inversely related (p < 0.05) to river discharge whereas those of Pb are positively related to discharge. Concentrations of organic contaminants have declined by a factor of 5–10 between the mid-1960's and the early 1980's, except Mirex, which shows no obvious trend with time. Historic trends in pollution by organic chemicals appear to have been influenced not only by changing anthropogenic inputs, but also by river discharge.

7. Measuring the Rate of Mercury Loss in Amphipod Gut and Tissues after Exposure to Contaminated Sediments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Martin
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Artificial Substrates ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Aquatic Food ◽  
Health Canada ◽  
St Lawrence River

Mercury (Hg) contamination of the St. Lawrence River along the Cornwall waterfront is the result of over a century of industrial inputs. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) are contaminated above the consumption guidelines deemed safe by Health Canada in one of three contaminated depositional zones. Amphipods are crustaceans that play an important role in aquatic food webs, and a recent study of the diet of yellow perch showed that amphipods were the primary food source of yellow perch in these zones and that amphipods showed similar patterns of Hg contamination. However, not all Hg taken up by amphipods is bioavailable. That is, not all Hg is incorporated into the tissues and available for uptake by yellow perch. To determine if Hg analyses of amphipods are biased by Hg present in their gut contents, the rate of Hg loss was measured from the gut and tissues. Amphipods were collected in the field using artificial substrates. A sample was frozen immediately upon retrieval, and the remaining amphipods were kept in a sieve in a basin of filtered river water. Amphipods were then sampled over 16 days to compare Hg concentrations in gut contents and tissues before and after they were removed from the Hg source in the field. The data were used to estimate the portion of Hg bioavailable to yellow perch. This enables us to more accurately estimate the extent of Hg contamination that is moving through the Cornwall food web, leading to elevated concentrations in top trophic fish species.

A multi-level biological approach to evaluate impacts of a major municipal effluent in wild St. Lawrence River yellow perch ( Perca flavescens )

2014 ◽  
Vol 497-498 ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magali Houde ◽  
Maeva Giraudo ◽  
Mélanie Douville ◽  
Bérénice Bougas ◽  
Patrice Couture ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Municipal Effluent ◽  
Biological Approach ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
St Lawrence River

Integrated spatial health assessment of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from the St. Lawrence River (QC, Canada), part B: cellular and transcriptomic effects

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (18) ◽  
pp. 18211-18221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Bruneau ◽  
Catherine Landry ◽  
Maeva Giraudo ◽  
Mélanie Douville ◽  
Philippe Brodeur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
St Lawrence River
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document