Issue 12, 2010

Temporal trends of contaminants in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from a small lake, southwest Greenland during a warming climate

Abstract

Hg and legacy POPs were analysed in muscle tissue of a landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) population from a small lake in southwest Greenland. Hg concentrations were available for six years and OC concentrations for five years during the period 1994 to 2008. For two years, stable isotope values of nitrogen (δ15N) were analysed in muscle tissue in order to infer trophic effects. Hg, Σ10-PCB, ΣDDT and trans-nonachlor concentrations (OC on wet weight basis) showed an increase with increasing fish length, which had to be accounted for when assessing temporal trends. δ15N values had a narrow range, and there was no indication of increasing δ15N values with char length confirming the sampled char did not vary in trophic morphs as often seen in Arctic lakes. Length-adjusted Hg concentrations showed a significantly increasing trend during the period 1994 to 2008, while Σ10-PCB, ΣDDT, ΣHCH and trans-nonachlor showed a significantly decreasing trend when expressed on wet weight, and decreasing but not significantly when expressed on lipid weight. The reason for this was that the lipid content of muscle showed a significantly decreasing trend with time. The sum of mean monthly air temperature during May to August measured at a nearby meteorological station showed an increasing trend during the study period, and changing temperature conditions probably influenced the temporal trend of especially Hg concentrations and the lipid content.

Graphical abstract: Temporal trends of contaminants in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from a small lake, southwest Greenland during a warming climate

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Apr 2010
Accepted
02 Sep 2010
First published
12 Oct 2010

J. Environ. Monit., 2010,12, 2252-2258

Temporal trends of contaminants in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from a small lake, southwest Greenland during a warming climate

F. Rigét, K. Vorkamp and D. Muir, J. Environ. Monit., 2010, 12, 2252 DOI: 10.1039/C0EM00154F

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