Salmon-Derived Mercury and Nutrients in a Lake Ontario Spawning Stream

We tested the hypothesis that concentrations of mercury species (Hg) and nutrients ($\text{NH}_{4}^{+},\text{NO}_{3}^{-},\text{P}$ and dissolved organic carbon) in abiotic and biotic components would be altered by the decomposition of salmon carcasses in streams. We investigated a tributary stream o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Limnology and oceanography Vol. 49; no. 4; pp. 891 - 899
Main Authors:	Sarica, José, Amyot, Marc, Hare, Landis, Doyon, Marie-Renée, Stanfield, Les William
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Waco, TX The American Society of Limnology and Oceanography 01-07-2004 American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Bears Biological and medical sciences Creeks Density Fresh water ecosystems Freshwater Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Invertebrates Larvae Marine fishes Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Particulate matter Salmon Salmonidae Sediments Streams Synecology Ursidae Great Lakes of America Lake Ontario North America America Canada, Ontario, Ontario L North America, Ontario L Freshwater environment Salmonidae Reproduction Vertebrata Spawning Pisces Nutrient Stream
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Summary:	We tested the hypothesis that concentrations of mercury species (Hg) and nutrients ($\text{NH}_{4}^{+},\text{NO}_{3}^{-},\text{P}$ and dissolved organic carbon) in abiotic and biotic components would be altered by the decomposition of salmon carcasses in streams. We investigated a tributary stream of Lake Ontario receiving spawning runs of Chinook salmon (Oncorhyncus tshawytscha) for 2 yr with contrasting bear activity. Stations with high carcass densities had significantly higher levels of aqueous total Hg, methylmercury (MeHg), particulate Hg, and nutrients than did stations with lower carcass densities. Hg levels in aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates feeding on carcasses increased by up to 25-fold. In 2001, a bear removed most carcasses at the downstream station, and aqueous Hg and nutrient concentrations were significantly lower than during the preceding year, when no bear was active at that station. A preliminary budget for this stream shows that (1) salmon carcasses can be an important source of Hg and nutrients to aquatic and terrestrial food webs, and (2) terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates can be important water-to-land vectors of Hg.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0024-3590 1939-5590
DOI:	10.4319/lo.2004.49.4.0891