Is there biomagnification of organochlorines in a Rocky Mountain aquatic food web?
- Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
- Environment Canada, Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada)
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)
In 1991--92, 14 lakes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains were surveyed for organochlorine contamination (PCBs, DDT isomers, toxaphene, and other pesticides) of water and lake trout. Lake trout from Bow Lake, near the Continental Divide, in Banff National Park, contained particularly high concentrations of organochlorines, notably toxaphene, in their tissue compared to other mountain lake trout populations. The hypothesis that the high degree of contamination in fish is caused by biomagnification is being tested by analysis of lake trout (Salveninus namaycush), mountain whitefish (Propsopium williamsoni), benthic invertebrates, and zooplankton for organochlorine compounds and stable nitrogen isotopes (15N/14N). Fish, invertebrates, sediments and water collected from Bow Lake in 1994 were all found to contain organochlorines, and the authors are investigating the apparent patterns of contamination present. The possibility that contaminants deposited in past decades on the glaciers that feed Bow Lake contributes to the high values is also being examined.
- OSTI ID:
- 398205
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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