Mercury concentrations of a resident freshwater forage fish at Adak Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska

Kenney, Leah A.; Hippel, Frank von; Willacker, James J.; O’Hara, Todd M.

doi:10.1002/etc.1990

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Pollution is a significant threat to island freshwater ecosystems. A number of studies identified in this review reported high concentrations of bioaccumulating pollutants, such as mercury, in freshwater ecosystems (Jaffal et al 2011;Zananski et al 2011), including in isolated islands in the Arctic and Antarctic regions (Riget et al 2004;St Louis et al 2005;Kenney et al 2012). Agricultural activities are also a source of nutrients (Duwig et al 1998;Caruso 2002;Corbet et al 2002) and agrochemicals (Magbanua et al 2010;Tashiro et al 2013), which can reduce the quality of freshwater resources.…”

Section: Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 88%

Island ecosystem services: insights from a literature review on case-study island ecosystem services and future prospects

Balzan

Potschin-Young

Haines-Young

2018

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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Small islands are of special interest for sustainable development because of their unique characteristics and vulnerabilities. They are ecologically fragile, have limited resources, are susceptible to natural disasters and climate change. This study reviews the literature on island ecosystems, their contribution in the delivery of five key Island Ecosystem Services (IES) and acting pressures and trade-offs associated with IES management. From a set of 1630 potential relevant papers, 273 were selected for analysis. Most of the selected papers focused on cultural IES, in the form of recreation, eco-tourism and gene pool protection. However, provisioning and regulating IES were also well represented in the literature. Most of the studies discussed different management strategies and pressures arising from human use of IES. A small subset investigated the links between island biodiversity and IES, and the contribution of IES to human well-being. This review highlights knowledge gaps in the literature and identifies the need to develop approaches for IES assessments that are informed by local knowledge and which make use of empirical and spatial data for management that maximises the potential of island ecosystems to deliver IES whilst reducing trade-offs.

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Section: Freshwatermentioning

confidence: 88%

Island ecosystem services: insights from a literature review on case-study island ecosystem services and future prospects

Balzan

Potschin-Young

Haines-Young

2018

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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“…Fish and Wildlife Service in their efforts to manage for contaminant exposure of wildlife within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Determination of management concerns can be facilitated by the monitoring of important fish prey species of higher trophic level wildlife (Kenney et al., 2012, 2014). PCB data from Unalaska also contribute to the understanding of ecotoxicology in a poorly studied region of the Arctic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago

Adams

Hippel

Hungate

et al. 2019

Heliyon

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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic, lipophilic organochlorines that were banned due to their impacts on human and wildlife health and environmental persistence. Although banned, the continued release from pre-banned products allows them to persist at toxic levels in the environment. This is especially the case in lipid rich food webs of the Arctic, where PCBs accumulate due to both long-range atmospheric transport and locally contaminated sites such as formerly used defense (FUD) sites. At the request of the leadership of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, we analyzed PCB concentrations in samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and subsistence foods (i.e., salmonid species and blue mussels [Mytilus edulis]) collected at both FUD and non-FUD sites. PCBs were extracted from samples using a QuEChERS method. The mean PCB concentrations across all mussel samples was 6.1 ppb; mussels from FUD sites had nearly double the PCB concentrations (7.6 ppb) compared to non-military sites (3.9 ppb), and at two FUD sites the PCB concentrations exceeded safe consumption guidelines. The mean total PCB concentration for fish was 2.8 ppb; fish PCB concentrations were higher at FUD sites (3.2 ppb) compared to non-military sites (1.2 ppb). These results support the need to remediate the FUD sites of “Building 551/T Dock to Airport” and “Delta Western”. More generally, these results provide further evidence of the continued problem of PCB contamination at FUD sites in the Arctic, many of which are co-located with indigenous communities.

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“…Although Hg concentrations in stickleback from Agattu Island were higher than would be expected for an area without a known point source of Hg pollution, other studies have documented comparatively high concentrations of contaminants in marine organisms from the western Aleutians [8] – [10] , [13] , [30] . Recent work at Adak Island, located in the central Aleutians, also revealed similarly high mean Hg concentrations in resident freshwater stickleback populations (range = 0.31–0.54 µg/g dw) [22] . The Aleutian Low, a semi-permanent low-pressure system characterized by many strong cyclones, dominates weather patterns of the North Pacific and Bering Sea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Recent work at Adak Island, located in the central Aleutians, also revealed similarly high mean Hg concentrations in resident freshwater stickleback populations (range = 0.31–0.54 µg/g dw) [22]. The Aleutian Low, a semi-permanent low-pressure system characterized by many strong cyclones, dominates weather patterns of the North Pacific and Bering Sea.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Temporal Variation in Fish Mercury Concentrations within Lakes from the Western Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska

et al. 2014

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We assessed temporal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Agattu Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. Total Hg concentrations in whole-bodied stickleback were measured at two-week intervals from two sites in each of two lakes from June 1 to August 10, 2011 during the time period when lakes were ice-free. Across all sites and sampling events, stickleback Hg concentrations ranged from 0.37–1.07 µg/g dry weight (dw), with a mean (± SE) of 0.55±0.01 µg/g dw. Mean fish Hg concentrations declined by 9% during the study period, from 0.57±0.01 µg/g dw in early June to 0.52±0.01 µg/g dw in mid-August. Mean fish Hg concentrations were 6% higher in Loon Lake (0.56±0.01 µg/g dw) than in Lake 696 (0.53±0.01 µg/g dw), and 4% higher in males (0.56±0.01 µg/g dw) than in females (0.54±0.01 µg/g dw). Loon Lake was distinguished from Lake 696 by the presence of piscivorous waterbirds during the breeding season. Mercury concentrations in stickleback from Agattu Island were higher than would be expected for an area without known point sources of Hg pollution, and high enough to be of concern to the health of piscivorous wildlife.

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Mercury concentrations of a resident freshwater forage fish at Adak Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska

Cited by 6 publications

References 34 publications

Island ecosystem services: insights from a literature review on case-study island ecosystem services and future prospects

Island ecosystem services: insights from a literature review on case-study island ecosystem services and future prospects

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago

Temporal Variation in Fish Mercury Concentrations within Lakes from the Western Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska

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