Spatial and temporal trends of mercury and other metals in landlocked char from lakes in the Canadian Arctic archipelago

Mercury concentrations in landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian Arctic. Part II: Influence of lake biotic and abiotic characteristics on geographic trends in 27 populations

“…Mean Hg concentrations in Arctic char from 14 lakes were below the Health Canada guideline for subsistence consumption (of 0.2 mg/g), while mean THg concentrations in char from 10 lakes exceeded that guideline ( Table 1). The THg concentrations presented here are comparable to previously reported literature values for six lakes from the Resolute Bay area [7], and in Tasialuk Lake to concentrations reported in the late 1970s (n ¼ 24; THg ¼ 0.06-0.14 mg/g) [43]. Thus, the present study is the most comprehensive summary of current concentrations of THg available for landlocked Arctic (Table 2).…”

“…However, spatial comparisons of Hg concentrations in fish are often constrained by the high variability among species, among populations within the same species, or among individuals within the same population [1,7,9]. Fish are exposed to Hg mainly through dietary uptake [18].…”

“…Its circumpolar distribution within the Arctic allows widespread monitoring and large scale spatial comparisons of contaminant concentrations. Previous studies have shown that THg concentrations in Arctic char muscle tissue frequently exceed Health Canada guidelines (subsistence consumption threshold of 0.2 mg/g wet wt), with landlocked populations typically having greater THg concentrations than migratory populations [1,7,33,34]. There have been no previous large-scale spatial comparisons of Hg tissue concentrations in landlocked Arctic char, apart from reports on Hg data from anadromous char populations [1].…”

“…There have been no previous large-scale spatial comparisons of Hg tissue concentrations in landlocked Arctic char, apart from reports on Hg data from anadromous char populations [1]. The earlier study of Muir et al [7] investigated spatial variability only at local scales, using six lakes located near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, and did not include consideration of possible food webrelated effects on Hg concentrations. Here, we evaluate largescale spatial differences of Hg concentrations along longitudinal and latitudinal gradients in the Canadian Arctic after adjusting data for the effects of trophic position, fish length, and/or age.…”

Mercury concentrations in landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian Arctic. Part I: Insights from trophic relationships in 18 lakes

“…Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus L.) is the top predator in the food webs of most High Arctic lakes and is thus regarded as a valuable indicator species for environmental monitoring studies of bioaccumulative pollutants, such as mercury (Hg) [1][2][3]. However, the interpretation of spatial and temporal trend data is often confounded by site-to-site or year-to-year variability of concentrations of total Hg (THg) and other contaminants in the fish.…”