Biomagnification of α- and γ-Hexabromocyclododecane Isomers in a Lake Ontario Food Web

2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 2298-2303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg T. Tomy ◽  
Wes Budakowski ◽  
Thor Halldorson ◽  
D. Michael Whittle ◽  
Micahel J. Keir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1376-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg T. Tomy ◽  
Ed Sverko ◽  
Vince Palace ◽  
Bruno Rosenberg ◽  
Robert McCrindle ◽  
...  

<i>Abstract</i>.—Fish population recoveries can result from ecosystem change in the absence of targeted restoration actions. In Lake Ontario, native Deepwater Sculpin <i>Myoxocephalus thompsonii</i> were common in the late 1800s, but by the mid-1900s the species was possibly extirpated. During this period, mineral nutrient inputs increased and piscivore abundance declined, which increased the abundance of the nonnative planktivores Alewife <i>Alosa pseudoharengus</i> and Rainbow Smelt <i>Osmerus mordax</i>. Deepwater Sculpin larvae are pelagic and vulnerable to predation by planktivores. Annual bottom trawl surveys did not capture Deepwater Sculpin from 1978 to 1995 (<i>n</i> = 6,666 tows) despite sampling appropriate habitat (trawl depths: 7–170 m). The absence of observations during this time resulted in an elevated conservation status for the species, but no restoration actions were initiated. In 1996, three individuals were caught in bottom trawls, the first observed since 1972. Since then, their abundance has increased, and in 2017, they were the second most abundant Lake Ontario prey fish. The food-web changes that occurred from 1970 through the 1990s contributed to this recovery. Alewife and Rainbow Smelt abundance declined during this period due to predation by stocked salmonids and legislation that reduced nutrient inputs and food web productivity. In the 1990s, proliferation of nonnative, filter-feeding dreissenid mussels dramatically increased water clarity. As light penetration increased, the early-spring depth distribution of Alewife and Rainbow Smelt shifted deeper, away from larval Deepwater Sculpin habitat. The intentional and unintentional changes that occurred in Lake Ontario were not targeted at Deepwater Sculpin restoration but resulted in conditions that favored the species’ recovery. While standard surveys documented the recovery, more diverse information (e.g., observations in deep habitats and early-life stages) would have improved our understanding of why the species recovered when it did. Annual Lake Ontario trawl surveys have collaboratively expanded their spatial extent and diversified habitat sampled, based on lessons learned from the Deepwater Sculpin recovery.


2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1194-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Munawar ◽  
I.F. Munawar ◽  
R. Dermott ◽  
M. Fitzpatrick ◽  
H. Niblock
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  

1999 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Bentzen ◽  
D Mackay ◽  
B E Hickie ◽  
D RS Lean

A comprehensive review is presented of changes of PCB concentrations in aquatic biota collected from Lake Ontario between 1977 and 1993, with emphasis on data for lake trout. Results of three major lake trout surveys from Canadian and United States agencies indicate lake trout PCBs have declined from the early 1980s, but changes in recent years are masked by interannual variability. These results also apply to other biota in the aquatic food web. PCB concentrations were consistent among the surveys after consideration of fish lipid content, age or size and analytical protocol. Variability of 20 to 30% in annual average estimates is attributed to both analytical and in situ sources. Current levels of PCBs in many salmonids exceed PCB consumption and wildlife protection advisories. The average half-life for PCBs in Lake Ontario biota is about 12 years and it will take three to four times that to reach the International Joint Commission target of 100 ng/g (ww) for protection of wildlife. It is essential that the design of monitoring programs ensures consistent, coordinated sampling and analysis. A monitoring strategy of annual sampling of key species supplemented with periodic intensive sampling of the entire food web (e.g., every 5 years) is suggested as more effective than current practices. There is a frequently neglected need for fuller interpretation of contaminant dynamics based on complementary research on the nature of the changing biotic and abiotic environments in a complex aquatic ecosystem like Lake Ontario. Key words: Lake Ontario, PCBs, fish, food webs, monitoring data, bioaccumulation.


2003 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 2094-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey L. Laxson ◽  
Kerry N. McPhedran ◽  
Joseph C. Makarewicz ◽  
Irena V. Telesh ◽  
Hugh J. Macisaac

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 813-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. O’Malley ◽  
Lars G. Rudstam ◽  
James M. Watkins ◽  
Toby J. Holda ◽  
Brian C. Weidel

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S Rand ◽  
Donald J Stewart

Estimates of production and predation rates from bioenergetic models of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) suggest a long-term decline in their gross conversion efficiency (gross production/prey consumption) and the gross production to biomass ratio in Lake Ontario during 1978-1994. The former pattern was caused primarily by a declining trend in adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) energy density during 1978-1985; the latter pattern resulted from reductions in growth rates (coho salmon) and a buildup of the older age-classes in the population (lake trout) over time. Model results suggest that over 100 and 25% of the annual production of adult alewife and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), respectively, was consumed by salmonines during 1990 in Lake Ontario; hence, we claim that recent observations of reduced salmonine growth in Lake Ontario may be a result of prey limitation. Energy transfer from primary production to salmonines appeared to be more efficient in Lake Ontario than in Lake Michigan, probably due to higher stocking levels per unit area and higher densities of preferred prey fish in Lake Ontario. Through separate analyses, we arrived at conflicting conclusions concerning the sustainability of the food web configuration in Lake Ontario during 1990.


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