How to translate text using browser tools
1 March 2010 Temporal and Spatial Trends of Organochlorines and Mercury in Fishes from the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Corridor, Canada
Sarah B. Gewurtz, Satyendra P. Bhavsar, Donald A. Jackson, Rachael Fletcher, Emily Awad, Rusty Moody, Eric J. Reiner
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The temporal and spatial relationships of a suite of organochlorine contaminants and mercury were examined in various fish species of the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair corridor, Canada, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of remediation efforts and to assess the risk to human and wildlife fish consumers. In Lake St. Clair, fish tissue concentrations of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), octachlorostyrene (OCS), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) decreased consistently from the 1970s until the 1980s and 1990s, after which the rate of contaminant decline slowed or concentrations stabilized. This trend was consistent in up to 13 species (both young-of-the-year and adult fishes) comprising different trophic positions and dietary habits, suggesting that the changes were reflective of ambient conditions rather than food web processes. Elevated concentrations of mercury, PCBs, OCS, HCB, and DDT were detected in St. Clair River young-of-the-year spottail shiner compared with fish from Lake Huron, indicating that non-atmospheric inputs of these chemicals, likely originating from sediment, remain in the St. Clair River. Current concentrations of mercury and PCBs, and mercury, PCBs, and DDT remain of concern to human and wildlife fish consumers, respectively. Given that contaminant decreases have generally stabilized in fish, we suggest that further natural recovery of contaminants in St. Clair corridor fishes will be slow since contaminants will likely continue to be influenced by sediment levels.

©2009 Elsevier B.V.
Sarah B. Gewurtz, Satyendra P. Bhavsar, Donald A. Jackson, Rachael Fletcher, Emily Awad, Rusty Moody, and Eric J. Reiner "Temporal and Spatial Trends of Organochlorines and Mercury in Fishes from the St. Clair River/Lake St. Clair Corridor, Canada," Journal of Great Lakes Research 36(1), 100-112, (1 March 2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2009.12.008
Received: 10 April 2009; Accepted: 8 November 2009; Published: 1 March 2010
JOURNAL ARTICLE
13 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
ercury
Lake St. Clair
Organochlorines
Sport fish
St. Clair River
Young-of-the-year spottail shiner
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top