Organochlorine Contaminant Residues in Young-of-the-Year Spottail Shiners from Lakes Ontario, Erie, and St. Clair

• Published in: Journal of Great Lakes research Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 230 - 233
• Main Authors: Suns, K., Rees, G.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 1978
• Subjects: Freshwater; Notropis hudsonius
• ISSN: 0380-1330
• DOI: 10.1016/S0380-1330(78)72190-8

The spottail shiner (
Notropis hudsonius) was found to be a useful biological integrator of organochlorine contaminants in near-shore habitats. During the fall of 1975 spottail shiners were collected from nine sampling sites on Lakes Ontario, Erie and St. Clair. The restricted home range of the young-of-the-year spottail and its relatively short exposure to contaminants facilitated localized residue level assesment and reflected on recent contaminant loadings. Contaminant types and residue levels in fish generally reflected the regional land-practices. All samples analyzed contained PCB and DDT residues, while some also contained heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, endrin and chlordane. Mean PCB concentrations for theyoung-of-the-year spottails ranged from 59
ng/g - 844
ng/g wet weight, while total DDT residues ranged from 32
ng/g - 244
ng/g. The mean PCB residue concentrations in seven of the nine fish collections tested exceeded the 100
ng/g body burden level recommended for protection of wildlife by the I.J.C.