TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal variation in fish mercury concentrations within lakes from the western Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska
AU - Kenney, Leah A.
AU - Eagles-Smith, Collin A.
AU - Ackerman, Joshua T.
AU - Von Hippel, Frank A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Invaluable logistical support was provided by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, especially from Jeff Williams, Lisa Spitler, Heather Renner and the crew of the R/V Tiglax. We thank Robb Kaler for assistance with study design and field collections. We thank Kyle Shedd, Robin Keister, Mark Herzog, Branden Johnson, and Brandon Kowalski for laboratory assistance. We thank Robb Kaler, Mark Ricca, Emilie Saulnier-Talbot, and an anonymous reviewer for constructive feedback and comments that improved this manuscript. All collections during this study were done in accordance with the University of Alaska Anchorage Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol 159870-11) and were authorized by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (permit SF2011-029). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
PY - 2014/7/16
Y1 - 2014/7/16
N2 - We assessed temporal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Agattu Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. Total Hg concentrations in whole-bodied stickleback were measured at two-week intervals from two sites in each of two lakes from June 1 to August 10, 2011 during the time period when lakes were ice-free. Across all sites and sampling events, stickleback Hg concentrations ranged from 0.37-1.07 μg/g dry weight (dw), with a mean (± SE) of 0.55±0.01 mg/g dw. Mean fish Hg concentrations declined by 9% during the study period, from 0.57±0.01 mg/g dw in early June to 0.52±0.01 μg/g dw in mid-August. Mean fish Hg concentrations were 6% higher in Loon Lake (0.56±0.01 μg/g dw) than in Lake 696 (0.53±0.01 mg/g dw), and 4% higher in males (0.56±0.01 μg/g dw) than in females (0.54±0.01 μg/g dw). Loon Lake was distinguished from Lake 696 by the presence of piscivorous waterbirds during the breeding season. Mercury concentrations in stickleback from Agattu Island were higher than would be expected for an area without known point sources of Hg pollution, and high enough to be of concern to the health of piscivorous wildlife.
AB - We assessed temporal variation in mercury (Hg) concentrations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Agattu Island, Aleutian Archipelago, Alaska. Total Hg concentrations in whole-bodied stickleback were measured at two-week intervals from two sites in each of two lakes from June 1 to August 10, 2011 during the time period when lakes were ice-free. Across all sites and sampling events, stickleback Hg concentrations ranged from 0.37-1.07 μg/g dry weight (dw), with a mean (± SE) of 0.55±0.01 mg/g dw. Mean fish Hg concentrations declined by 9% during the study period, from 0.57±0.01 mg/g dw in early June to 0.52±0.01 μg/g dw in mid-August. Mean fish Hg concentrations were 6% higher in Loon Lake (0.56±0.01 μg/g dw) than in Lake 696 (0.53±0.01 mg/g dw), and 4% higher in males (0.56±0.01 μg/g dw) than in females (0.54±0.01 μg/g dw). Loon Lake was distinguished from Lake 696 by the presence of piscivorous waterbirds during the breeding season. Mercury concentrations in stickleback from Agattu Island were higher than would be expected for an area without known point sources of Hg pollution, and high enough to be of concern to the health of piscivorous wildlife.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0102244
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0102244
M3 - Article
C2 - 25029042
AN - SCOPUS:84904337344
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 9
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 7
M1 - e102244
ER -