Temporal trends, lake-to-lake variation, and climate effects on Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) mercury concentrations from six High Arctic lakes in Nunavut, Canada

Hudelson, Karista; Muir, Derek C.G.; Drevnick, Paul E.; Köck, Günter; Iqaluk, Deborah; Wang, Xiaowa; Kirk, Jane L.; Barst, Benjamin D.; Grgicak‐Mannion, Alice; Shearon, Rebecca; Fisk, Aaron T.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.453

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…metal(loid) contamination, sewage disposal, persistent organic pollutants) can pose a greater threat to the functioning and integrity of northern aquatic ecosystems (e.g. Antoniades et al 2011;Ahonen et al 2018;Stewart et al 2014Stewart et al , 2018Hudelson et al 2019;Zubova et al 2020). With projected increases in air-temperature and precipitation (Prowse et al 2009;Jansen et al 2020), as well as proposed land-use changes (Cott et al 2015), it is likely that the further perturbations of northern freshwaters could impede the provision of important ecosystem services such as subsistence fisheries, tourism, and recreational activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Algal responses to metal(loid) pollution, urbanization, and climatic changes in subarctic lakes around Yellowknife, Canada

et al. 2022

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The lakes around Yellowknife (Northwest Territories, Canada) have been impacted by multiple environmental stressors throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Here, we have synthesized diatom assemblage data from ten lake sediment cores from the Yellowknife area and used a landscape-scale paleolimnological approach to investigate the cumulative impacts of past gold mining activities, urbanization, and climate warming on aquatic biota. Our investigations indicated that diatom species turnover (measured using detrended canonical correspondence analysis) was highest at lakes closer to the city and mines, as these sites were more severely impacted by land-use changes (e.g. sewage disposal, run-off from waste disposal sites) and roaster stack emission from the gold mines. Diatom assemblage shifts indicative of climate-induced changes to lake thermal properties were also observed across the gradient of human activities. The inclusion of remote sites was useful to disentangle the effects of climate-mediated changes from impacts related to mining and urbanization. This investigation suggests that the diatom assemblages of the lakes around Yellowknife have changed markedly over the last ~80 years and there are no signs of biological recovery since the cessation of mining activities around the turn of the 21st century. The biota of the sub-Arctic lakes around Yellowknife are now strongly influenced by climate-mediated changes to lake thermal properties and the urban lakes are also influenced by the legacies of past land-use changes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Algal responses to metal(loid) pollution, urbanization, and climatic changes in subarctic lakes around Yellowknife, Canada

et al. 2022

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“…In addition to its ecological importance, landlocked Arctic char represents a minor yet dependable food source for indigenous communities of the Arctic (Boivin and Power 1990). Sampling of certain landlocked Arctic char populations for the purpose of monitoring the spatial and temporal patterns of contaminants began in the Canadian High Arctic in the early 1990s (Muir et al 2005; Hudelson et al 2019). These long‐term data sets, and others like them, indicate that mean muscle total Hg concentrations ([THg]) in resident and landlocked Arctic char vary greatly among populations (approximately 0.01–1 µg/g wet wt; Barst et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These long‐term data sets, and others like them, indicate that mean muscle total Hg concentrations ([THg]) in resident and landlocked Arctic char vary greatly among populations (approximately 0.01–1 µg/g wet wt; Barst et al 2019). The drivers of this variation are the topic of ongoing research and may involve differences in Hg inputs, Hg methylation rates, water chemistries, and/or food‐web relationships among aquatic systems (Lescord et al 2015; Chételat et al 2015, 2017; Hudelson et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dried Blood Spot Sampling of Landlocked Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) for Estimating Mercury Exposure and Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting of Essential Amino Acids

Barst

Wooller

O’Brien

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Dried blood spots (DBS), created by applying and drying a whole blood sample onto filter paper, provide a simple and minimally invasive procedure for collecting, transporting, and storing blood. Because DBS are ideal for use in field and resource‐limited settings, we aimed to develop a simple and accurate DBS‐based approach for assessing mercury (Hg) exposure and dietary carbon sources for landlocked Arctic char, a sentinel fish species in the Arctic. We collected liquid whole blood (from the caudal vein), muscle, liver, and brains of Arctic char (n = 36) from 8 lakes spanning a Hg gradient in the Canadian High Arctic. We measured total Hg concentrations ([THg]) of field‐prepared DBS and Arctic char tissues. Across a considerable range, [THg] of DBS (0.04–3.38 μg/g wet wt) were highly correlated with [THg] of all tissues (r2 range = 0.928–0.996). We also analyzed the compound‐specific carbon isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C values) of essential amino acids (EAAs) isolated from DBS, liquid whole blood, and muscle. The δ13C values of 5 EAAs (δ13CEAAs; isoleucine [Ile], leucine [Leu], phenylalanine [Phe], valine [Val], and threonine [Thr]) from DBS were highly correlated with δ13CEAAs of liquid whole blood (r2 range = 0.693–0.895) and muscle (r2 range = 0.642–0.881). The patterns of δ13CEAAs of landlocked Arctic char were remarkably consistent across sample types and indicate that EAAs are most likely of algal origin. Because a small volume of blood (~50 µL) dried on filter paper can be used to determine Hg exposure levels of various tissues and to fingerprint carbon sources, DBS sampling may decrease the burdens of research and may be developed as a nonlethal sampling technique. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:893–903. © 2020 SETAC

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“…22 Higher productivity related to increasing sediment/nutrient/POC/DOC flux and water temperatures have been correlated with changes in diatom assemblages, benthic community composition, and sentinel species fish population/health. [23][24][25] Fish populations may be further influenced due to the physical process of egg smothering, while the benthic community may receive an increased exposure concentration of nutrients/contaminants, causing possible changes in the microbial and macroinvertebrate abundance or speciation. 15,26 Shifts to tolerant macroinvertebrate species and increases in fish biomass and density, but a decrease in fish size have also been observed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of the sediment and associated nutrient/contaminant continuum, from permafrost thaw slump scars to tundra lakes in the western Canadian Arctic

Droppo

Cenzo

McFadyen

et al. 2021

Permafrost & Periglacial

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Within the Canadian Arctic, vast areas of previously frozen sediments and carbon are being released into aquatic ecosystems via the occurrence of permafrost thaw and retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs). While knowledge of mass wasting RTS processes are more advanced, the significance of exposed retrogressive thaw slump scars (RTSSs) at various phases of stabilization to yield additional large quantities of ecologically relevant sediment to lakes and rivers is not well constrained. Using laboratory simulation (linked rainfall and lake flow dynamics), RTS sediments were investigated to assess the sediment continuum from the terrestrial RTSSs to depositional zones within two Arctic tundra lakes. Using an estimate of 30% of the RTSS areas contributing sediment under hypothetical 20-and 100-year rainfall events, up to 598 and 997 kg hr À1 of RTSS sediment washoff was projected respectively. Eroded particle size, regardless of lake or initial bulk RTSS size distribution, was dominated by individual clay particles (<5 μm) that were winnowed from the RTSS surface sediment. Given this is the most biogeochemical relevant fraction, it has the potential for significant ecological impact on the lakes. This deposited fine sediment was found to be very unstable with a critical shear stress for erosion close to that of the critical shear for deposition (0.05 Pa). As such, wave energy is expected to have an impact on remobilization of fine sediments and associated compounds with concomitant implications for lake-ecosystem health.

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Temporal trends, lake-to-lake variation, and climate effects on Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) mercury concentrations from six High Arctic lakes in Nunavut, Canada

Abstract: et al., Temporal trends, lake-to-lake variation, and climate effects on Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) mercury concentrations from six High Arctic lakes in Nunavut, Canada, Science of the Total Environment,

Cited by 24 publications

References 95 publications

Algal responses to metal(loid) pollution, urbanization, and climatic changes in subarctic lakes around Yellowknife, Canada

Algal responses to metal(loid) pollution, urbanization, and climatic changes in subarctic lakes around Yellowknife, Canada

Dried Blood Spot Sampling of Landlocked Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) for Estimating Mercury Exposure and Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting of Essential Amino Acids

Assessment of the sediment and associated nutrient/contaminant continuum, from permafrost thaw slump scars to tundra lakes in the western Canadian Arctic

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