| Title | Increasing contaminant burdens in an arctic fish, burbot (Lota lota), in a warming climate |
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| Author | Carrie, J; Wang, F; Sanei, H ; Macdonald, R W; Outridge, P M; Stern, G
A |
| Source | Environmental Science & Technology (ES & T) vol. 44, no. 1, 2010 p. 316-322, https://doi.org/10.1021/es902582y |
| Year | 2010 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20182777 |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society (ACS) |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Released | 2009 12 03 |
| Abstract | The temporal patterns of mercury (Hg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other contaminants in Arctic aquatic biota are usually attributed to changing atmospheric sources. However, climate
variability and change is another means of altering contaminant fate and bioavailability. We show here that the concentrations of Hg and PCBs in Mackenzie River burbot (Lota lota), a top predator fish and important staple food for northern Canadian
communities, have increased significantly over the last 25 years despite falling or stable atmospheric concentrations, suggesting that environmental processes subsequent to atmospheric transport are responsible. Using a dated sediment core from a
tributary lake near the Mackenzie River sampling site,weshow that variations in Hg concentrations downcore are strongly associated with labile, algal-derived organic matter (OM). Strong temporal correlations between
increasingprimaryproductivityandbioticHgandPCBsasreflected by burbot suggest that warming temperatures and reduced ice cover may lead to increased exposure to these contaminants in high trophic level Arctic freshwater biota. © 2010 American Chemical
Society. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 312621 |
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