Physical and Biological Factors Affecting Mercury and Perfluorinated Contaminants in Arctic Char (<i>Salvelinus alpinus</i>) of Pingualuit Crater Lake (Nunavik, Canada) + Supplementary Appendices (See Article Tools)

Abstract

ABstrACt. Pingualuk Lake fills a deep crater in the Parc National des Pingualuit on the ungava Peninsula (Nunavik, Canada) and is isolated from nearby surface waters. the main objectives of this study were to determine and compare the concentrations of two atmospherically derived contaminants, mercury and perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), in the lake water column and fish of Pingualuk Lake and to assess the physical and biological factors influencing contaminant concentrations. Mercury concentrations in arctic char muscle tissue were comparable to those of char in other Arctic lakes, while the total amount of PFCs was below reported levels for remote lakes in the Arctic and elsewhere. stable isotope and stomach content analyses were made to investigate the feeding ecology of the Pingualuk Lake arctic char population and indicated the possibility of multiple feeding groups. Genetics characteristics (Mh and mtdNA) of fish from Pingualuk Lake revealed that this population is likely distinct from that of nearby Laflamme Lake. however, both arctic char populations exhibit differential variation of their allele families. Physical characteristics determined for Lake Pingualuk revealed that the water column was inversely stratified beneath the ice and extremely transparent to visible and ultraviolet radiation. the highest mercury concentrations (3 -6 pg mL -1 thg) occurred just beneath the ice surface in each lake. Pingualuk Lake, given its near pristine state and exceptional limnological features, may serve as a most valuable reference ecosystem for monitoring environmental stressors, such as contaminants, in the Arctic. key words: Pingualuit Crater, Salvelinus alpinus, mercury, PFos, PFoA, polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, atmospheric deposition, cannibalism, genetic isolation, meteor-impact crater rÉsuMÉ. Le lac Pingualuk, qui remplit un cratère profond situé dans le parc national des Pingualuit, dans la péninsule d'ungava (Nunavik, Canada), est isolé des eaux de surface avoisinantes. Les principaux objectifs de la présente étude consistaient à déterminer et à comparer les concentrations de deux contaminants dérivés dans l'atmosphère, soit le mercure et les produits chimiques perfluorés, se trouvant dans la colonne d'eau lacustre et les poissons du lac Pingualuk, ainsi qu'à évaluer les facteurs physiques et biologiques influençant les concentrations de contaminants. Les concentrations de mercure décelées dans le tissu musculaire de l'omble chevalier étaient comparables à celles de l'omble d'autres lacs de l'Arctique, tandis que la quantité totale de produits chimiques perfluorés était inférieure aux niveaux répertoriés dans les lacs éloignés de l'Arctique et d'ailleurs. L'analyse des isotopes stables de même que l'analyse du contenu de l'estomac ont permis d'enquêter sur l'écologie alimentaire de la population d'ombles chevaliers du lac Pingualuk, et ont indiqué la possibilité qu'il existe plusieurs groupes d'alimentation. Les caractéristiques génétiques (Mh et AdN mt) des poissons du lac Pingualuk ont révélé que cette popul...

Perfluorinated and Polyfluorinated Compounds in Lake Food Webs from the Canadian High Arctic

“…respectively) 40 and in char from northern Quebec (∼0.015 ng/g wet wt.). 14 [PFOS] concentrations in char from Meretta (24 ± 6.0 ng/g) and Resolute (117 ± 64 ng/g; see Table 1) Lakes were more similar to those measured in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) around Kuujjuarapik in Northern Quebec (39 ng/g, range 29−50 ng/g). 35 However, despite the high [PFOS] in char and water from Meretta and Resolute Lakes, much higher aqueous concentrations (>5 mg/ L) did not impact the survival of a small ricefish (Oryzias latipes).…”

“…Several PFSAs, such as perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), and PFCAs, such as perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), have been detected in various biota and human blood samples from around the world, including the high Arctic. 6,19 Detectable levels of PFASs have been reported in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), one of the only circumpolar freshwater fish, from the Central and Eastern Canadian Arctic 14,44 and the Faroe Islands 23 and in the recent assessment of persistent organic pollutants in the Canadian Arctic. 33,36 PFASs enter Arctic systems directly through runoff from local sources (e.g., airports 37,42 ) or indirectly through longrange oceanographic or atmospheric transport.…”

Anadromous char as an alternate food choice to marine animals: A synthesis of Hg concentrations, population features and other influencing factors

“…For the latter location, December-caught char (i.e., after feeding in the sea) had a significantly (p b 0.05) higher lipid content and lower Hg concentrations than fish caught in June after the overwintering period; Boivin and Power (1990) reported on a general loss of lipid in overwintering char. Hg concentrations in landlocked char from Pingualuk (0.18 ± 0.11 μg/g) and Laflamme (0.14 ± 0.07 μg/g) lakes were higher than in anadromous char (Gantner et al, 2012).…”

Perfluorinated Chemicals in Meromictic Lakes on the Northern Coast of Ellesmere Island, High Arctic Canada + Online Appendix 1 (See Article Tools)

“…Measurements from a single sampling expedition to Amituk Lake gave median PFOS and PFOA concentrations of 1200 and 2000 pg L -1 , more than 15 times as high as those in the surface waters of Lake A. Surface water from Pingualuk Lake, an isolated crater lake in northern Québec, had PFOS and PFOA concentrations of 28 and 62 pg L -1 , respectively (Gantner et al, 2012), which are even lower than in Lake A. This implies that Arctic lakes vary greatly in their PFC contaminant burdens.…”