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Legacy contaminant-stable isotope-age relationships in Lake Ontario year-class Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

James J. Pagano·James J. Garner·Brian Weidel·Daryl J. McGoldrick·Maureen G. Walsh·Thomas M. Holsen
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Abstract

Alewife ( Alosa pseudoharengus ) are the preferred prey species of the top piscivore predators in the Lake Ontario food web and are an essential constituent in the bioaccumulation of persistent organic contaminants. Year-class samples collected in 2016 represent the alewife age ranges of 2015 (Age-01) sequentially dating back to 2008 (Age-08). The most abundant contaminant measured in Lake Ontario alewife (151.5 ng/g) were total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), increasing at a rate of 11.8 ng/g per year on an age-averaged concentration basis. Total mercury demonstrated the largest percent increase (240%) accumulated over alewife ages of 1–8 years. Average total concentrations of the most abundant polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin isomer (2378-tetrachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), 1.3 pg/g) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran isomer (2378-tetrachlorinated dibenzofuran (2378-TCDF), 6.6 pg/g) comprised most of the overall total dioxin (2.5 pg/g) and total furan concentrations (8.7 pg/g). The vast majority (69%) of alewife total toxic equivalence (TEQ) was comprised of the non-ortho coplanar PCBs. Both mammal and avian wildlife protection values based on total TEQ were uniformly exceeded for the dioxin-like compounds measured in Lake Ontario alewife. Ontogenetic dietary influences expressed a significant impact on Age-01 alewife age-contaminant relationships and age-stable isotope concentrations and trends for legacy contaminants. Total Hg and all dioxin-like contaminants did not demonstrate the Age-01 ontogenetic dietary effects found in legacy contaminants. A prominent polychlorinated naphthalene (PCN) concentration peak measured in year-class Age-04 alewife was followed by a corresponding lake trout peak 3–4 years later illustrating a unique example of trophic-level contaminant uptake and concomitant integration delay.

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Journal of Great Lakes ResearchArticle
90° N90° S · 180° W ← longitude → 180° E
Source-reported bounding extent: 43.229195113965005° to 43.61047672368098° latitude; -79.8211669921875° to -76.21490478515625° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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BibTeXRIS

James J. Pagano, James J. Garner, Brian Weidel, Daryl J. McGoldrick, Maureen G. Walsh, Thomas M. Holsen. 2021. Legacy contaminant-stable isotope-age relationships in Lake Ontario year-class Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2021.04.016

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