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dc.contributor.authorGreen, Derek J
dc.contributor.authorDuffy, Mark
dc.contributor.authorJanz, David M
dc.contributor.authorMcCullum, Kevin
dc.contributor.authorCarrière, Gary
dc.contributor.authorJardine, Timothy D
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-27T00:21:03Z
dc.date.available2021-07-27T00:21:03Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.identifier.issn0090-4341
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00244-016-0287-3
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/406342
dc.description.abstractMercury (Hg) contamination can pose risks to human and animal health as well as commercial fisheries. Reservoir construction in riverine systems produces flooded conditions amenable to Hg(II)-methylating bacteria, which can transform this relatively benign environmental contaminant into the bioaccumulative, environmentally relevant, and neurotoxic methyl-Hg (MeHg). Hg concentrations ([Hg]) in fishes from reservoirs can take decades to decrease to pre-dam levels, but less is known about Hg exported downstream and its dynamics within downstream fish populations. We examined and compared the multidecadal rates of biotic [Hg] decrease and contemporary factors affecting [Hg] in fish collected from a hydroelectric reservoir (Tobin Lake) and a related downstream fishery (Cumberland Lake) along the Saskatchewan River, Canada. Rates of [Hg] decrease were considered in four species—northern pike (Esox lucius), sauger (Sander canadensis), goldeye (Hiodon alosoides), and walleye (S. vitreus)—all of which showed a significant decrease over time (p < 0.001) and are now lower than Health Canada consumption guidelines (0.5 μg/g). Rates of decrease ranged from 0.5 to 3.9 %/year and were similar between sites in the cases of northern pike and sauger. Contemporary factors affecting [Hg] in walleye collected downstream include fish length (p < 0.001), fish age (p < 0.001), and trophic magnification through the food web (p < 0.001), and relationships between [Hg] and trophic level in predatory and prey fish are now similar to those found in non-Hg-inundated systems at a similar latitude. Together, these results suggest connected contamination between the two sites and delineate the timeline during which [Hg] in a variety of fish species decreased to nontoxic levels in both locations.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom157
dc.relation.ispartofpageto170
dc.relation.ispartofissue2
dc.relation.ispartofjournalArchives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
dc.relation.ispartofvolume71
dc.subject.fieldofresearchMarine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
dc.subject.fieldofresearchFisheries sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode310305
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode3005
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology
dc.subject.keywordsLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental Sciences
dc.subject.keywordsToxicology
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironmental Sciences & Ecology
dc.titleHistorical and contemporary patterns of mercury in a hydroelectric reservoir and downstream fishery: Concentration decline in water and fishes
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationGreen, DJ; Duffy, M; Janz, DM; McCullum, K; Carrière, G; Jardine, TD, Historical and contemporary patterns of mercury in a hydroelectric reservoir and downstream fishery: Concentration decline in water and fishes, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2016, 71 (2), pp. 157-170
dcterms.dateAccepted2016-05-18
dc.date.updated2021-07-27T00:17:22Z
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorJardine, Timothy


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