Patterns of Organic Contaminant Accumulation by Freshwater Mussels in the St. Clair River, Ontario

Muncaster, B. W.; Innes, David J.; Haffner, G. Douglas

doi:10.1016/s0380-1330(89)71518-5

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…With regard to the latter, in designing the program, we suspected that the response of the mussels to the uptake of the contaminants would be more dictated by their external environment. This has subsequently been shown to be the case (Muncaster et al, 1989). With the mussels having been deployed in known or suspected source areas, contaminant uptake would probably be more related to the possibly episodic nature of the inputs than to seasonality in environmental concentrations.…”

Section: Musselsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Mussels are abundant, easily collected and transported and sedentary. They are responsive to their surrounding environment meaning mussel tissue concentrations can often reflect short-term fluctuations in contaminant concentrations which may not be detected by routine water quality monitoring (Kauss and Hamdy, 1991;Lobel et al, 1991;Metcalfe and Charlton, 1990;Muncaster et al, 1989). E. complanata is a filter feeder, feeding on plankton and organic detritus and will accumulate contaminants directly from both the water column and the particulate matter (Pennak, 1978).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…complanata can readily monitor environmental gradients of biologically available compounds within exposure periods as short as two days (Kauss et al, 1983); however, longer periods could be required for certain compounds (Muncaster et al, 1989). These results were confirmed in 1997 and 2000 when mussels were deployed for up to 105 days at various Niagara River sites with retrievals after exposure for 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, 42, 63, 84 and 105 days (15 weeks).…”

Section: Musselsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Niagara River mussel biomonitoring program (Elliptio complanata): 1983–2009

Richman

Hobson

Williams

et al. 2011

Journal of Great Lakes Research

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Section: Musselsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Musselsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Niagara River mussel biomonitoring program (Elliptio complanata): 1983–2009

Richman

Hobson

Williams

et al. 2011

Journal of Great Lakes Research

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“…Mussels have been used world-wide to monitor pollution (Goldberg et al, 1978;Muncaster et al, 1989;Metcalfe and Charlton, 1990;Kauss and Hamdy, 1991;Phillips and Rainbow, 1993;Marvin et al, 1994;Peven et al, 1996;Chiu et al, 2000;Rainbow et al, 2000). Generally, the concentrations of contaminants in the tissue of mussels is a reflection of the concentrations in the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can We Use Zebra and Quagga Mussels for Biomonitoring Contaminants in the Niagara River?

Richman

Somers

2005

Water Air Soil Pollut

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We compared contaminants in zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena bugensis) of two different size classes from sites within the Niagara River to determine if the two species and two size classes can be used to monitor contaminants. Composite samples (i.e., at least 50 individuals) were analysed for 7 trace metals, total PCBs, selected organochlorine pesticides, chlorinated benzenes, and dioxins and furans. ANOVAs and MANOVAs showed that metal tissue concentrations varied significantly among sites, species, and size classes (P < 0.05). At sites where metal concentrations differed between species, zebra mussels had higher concentrations than quagga mussels. Similarly, larger mussels (i.e., 16-25 mm) generally had higher tissue concentrations than smaller mussels (<15 mm length). However, differences in tissue concentrations between size classes were present only for Cd, Cu and Mn and were infrequent, making these results inconclusive. For organic contaminants ANCOVAs and MANCOVAs using lipid concentration as a covariate revealed significant differences in tissue concentrations between the three sites, whereas differences between size classes were modest (P = 0.035). The ANOVA using individual parameters did not show a significant difference in tissue concentrations between the two size classes. In general, mussel tissue concentrations among stations (up to 7 stations throughout the river), were similar for Pb, Zn, Hg and Ni using data separated by species and size class. Concentrations of Cu, Mn and Cd were variable throughout the upper and lower Niagara. Tissue concentrations of α-BHC, 1,2,3 and 1,2,4 trichlorobenzene were similar in quagga mussels collected from 8 stations from the Canadian and American side of the river, whereas concentrations of total PCBs, octachlorostyrene, 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene and hexachlorobenzene were higher in quagga mussels from the American side of the upper river.

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“…Data on levels of HCB in tissues of invertebrates in Canada are limited. In studies conducted since 1981 in the Great Lakes and connecting channels, HCB levels in freshwater mussels ( Elliptio complanata ) have ranged from 0.1 ng/g wet weight in Lake St. Clair to 24 ng/g wet weight in the St. Clair River near Sarnia [42–44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of hexachlorobenzene on mink in the Canadian environment: An ecological risk asssessment

Moore¹,

Breton

Lloyd

1997

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a persistent substance that accumulates in tissues and biomagnifies up the food chain suggesting that biota at higher trophic levels (e.g., predatory birds and piscivorous mammals) are at the greatest risk of exposure. Although widespread, the highest levels of HCB in Canada are found in the Great Lakes and connecting channels. Because mink (Mustela vison) are piscivorous mammals known to be particularly sensitive to the effects of organochlorine substances, we assessed whether mink populations in the Great Lakes area are experiencing adverse effects as a result of exposure to HCB. A deterministic, deliberately hyperconservative analysis indicated that recent levels of HCB in air, water, and aquatic organisms are unlikely to pose a significant risk to mink living near Lakes St. Clair, Erie and Superior. The hazard quotients for the St. Clair River area near Sarnia and Lake Ontario, however, indicated potential risks. We conducted Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the probability that mink exposed to HCB in these areas are experiencing reproductive impairment. The results of these analyses indicate: (1) a moderate to high probability that mink in the St. Clair River area are experiencing 5 to 20% declines in reproductive success due to HCB exposure, and (2) a low probability (<15%) that mink near Lake Ontario are experiencing even modest declines in reproductive fecundity (>5%).

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Patterns of Organic Contaminant Accumulation by Freshwater Mussels in the St. Clair River, Ontario

Cited by 14 publications

References 17 publications

The Niagara River mussel biomonitoring program (Elliptio complanata): 1983–2009

The Niagara River mussel biomonitoring program (Elliptio complanata): 1983–2009

Can We Use Zebra and Quagga Mussels for Biomonitoring Contaminants in the Niagara River?

The effects of hexachlorobenzene on mink in the Canadian environment: An ecological risk asssessment

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