Correlation of Mercury Occurrence with Age, Elemental Composition, and Life History in Sea-Run Food Fish from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago’s Lower Northwest Passage

As mercury emissions continue and climate-mediated permafrost thaw increases the burden of this contaminant in northern waters, Inuit from a Northwest passage community in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago pressed for an assessment of their subsistence catches. Sea-run salmonids (n = 537) comprising Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), lake trout (S. namaycush), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), and cisco (C. autumnalis, C. sardinella) were analyzed for muscle mercury. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin and bioaccumulated with fish age, but other factors including selenium and other elements, diet and trophic level as assessed by stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C), as well as growth rate, condition, and geographic origin, also contributed depending on the species, even though all the fish shared a similar anadromous or sea-run life history. Although mean mercury concentrations for most of the species were ~0.09 µg·g−1 wet weight (ww), below the levels described in several jurisdictions for subsistence fisheries (0.2 µg·g−1 ww), 70% of lake trout were above this guideline (0.35 µg·g−1 ww), and 19% exceeded the 2.5-fold higher levels for commercial sale. We thus urge the development of consumption advisories for lake trout for the protection of pregnant women and young children and that additionally, periodic community-based monitoring be initiated.

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Genetic Stock Identification and Relative Contribution of Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Hornaday and Brock Rivers to Subsistence Fisheries in Darnley Bay, Northwest Territories + Supplementary Appendix Tables S1 to S4 (See Article Tools)

ARCTIC ◽

10.14430/arctic4578 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 69 (3) ◽

pp. 231

Author(s):

Les N. Harris ◽

David A. Bogsuski ◽

Colin P. Gallagher ◽

Kimberly L. Howland

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Salvelinus Alpinus ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Arctic Char ◽

Genetic Stock ◽

Subsistence Fisheries ◽

Bay Area ◽

Sampling Locations ◽

Mixed Stock

Where anadromous fishes occur in the Canadian Arctic, they provide the mainstay of local subsistence fisheries of varying intensities. Many of these fisheries harvest a mixture of stocks at discrete locations and it is often not known which stocks, specifically, are being harvested and to what extent. In the Darnley Bay area of the Northwest Territories, Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, in particular have long provided an important subsistence resource to residents of Paulatuk, and char from two systems (the Hornaday and Brock Rivers) are thought to contribute to the coastal fishery for this species. Genetic mixed-stock analysis (GMA) is routinely applied for resolving stock contributions to such fisheries, yet studies incorporating GMA to understand specifically which stocks are being harvested in the Canadian Arctic, and to what extent, are relatively scarce. In this study, we assayed microsatellite DNA variation among 987 Arctic char from two important coastal subsistence fisheries and several inland sampling locations in the Darnley Bay area to (1) assess the degree of genetic structuring between the Hornaday and Brock Rivers and (2) resolve the proportional contributions of these stocks to coastal mixed-stock fisheries in the region using GMA. Overall, genetic differentiation was relatively high and significant (θ = 0.117; 95% C.I. = 0.097–0.142) among baseline sampling locations. Overall patterns of genetic stock structure also support previous hypotheses that additional life history types (e.g., landlocked or freshwater-resident char, or both) exist in the Hornaday system, as indicated by elevated levels of genetic differentiation between some of our sampling locations. The GMA suggested that, while both river systems contribute to the coastal fishery, catches were dominated by Arctic char from the Hornaday River, which highlights the importance of this system. All told, our results may be relevant to the management of the subsistence fishery in Darnley Bay and for furthering the collective understanding of char biodiversity and life history variation in the Canadian Arctic.

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Influences of life history and environment on lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) growth and longevity in the Husky Lakes of the Western Canadian Arctic

Hydrobiologia ◽

10.1007/s10750-019-3960-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 840 (1) ◽

pp. 173-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Benjamin C. Kissinger ◽

Darren M. Gillis ◽

W. Gary Anderson ◽

Charles Killeen ◽

Norman M. Halden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Lake Trout ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Salvelinus Namaycush

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Natural Hybridization between Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) and Lake Trout (S. namaycush) in the Canadian Arctic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f93-288 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 50 (12) ◽

pp. 2652-2658 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Chris C. Wilson ◽

Paul D.N. Hebert

Keyword(s):

Lake Trout ◽

Salvelinus Alpinus ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Restriction Endonuclease Analysis ◽

Salvelinus Namaycush ◽

Arctic Char ◽

Natural Hybridization ◽

Low Levels ◽

Allozyme Loci ◽

Endonuclease Analysis

Natural interspecific hybrids between lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and Arctic char (S. alpinus) ranged in frequency from 1.8 to 6.8% in four of eleven lakes containing both species on the northern Melville Peninsula, N.W.T., and were also detected at several other sites across the Canadian Arctic. Hybrids were heterozygous for each of seven diagnostic allozyme loci between S. alpinus and S. namaycush, and were morphologically intermediate between the parental species. Restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA revealed that all but one of the hybrids had S. namaycush as their maternal parent. Resampling of two lakes where hybrids were detected revealed low levels of bidirectional nuclear introgression between the two species and limited transfer of S. namaycush mtDNA into S. alpinus.

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Depth and temperature preference of anadromous Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus in the Kitikmeot Sea, a shallow and low-salinity area of the Canadian Arctic

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13195 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 634 ◽

pp. 175-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

LN Harris ◽

DJ Yurkowski ◽

MJH Gilbert ◽

BGT Else ◽

PJ Duke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salvelinus Alpinus ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Arctic Char ◽

Temperature Preference ◽

Low Salinity

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Impacts of the Changing Ocean-Sea Ice System on the Key Forage Fish Arctic Cod (Boreogadus Saida) and Subsistence Fisheries in the Western Canadian Arctic—Evaluating Linked Climate, Ecosystem and Economic (CEE) Models

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2019.00179 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nadja S. Steiner ◽

William W. L. Cheung ◽

Andres M. Cisneros-Montemayor ◽

Helen Drost ◽

Hakase Hayashida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Forage Fish ◽

Boreogadus Saida ◽

Arctic Cod ◽

Subsistence Fisheries

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Lack of relationship between simulated fish population responses and their life history traits: inadequate models, incorrect analysis, or site-specific factors?

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f05-049 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 62 (4) ◽

pp. 886-902 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Kenneth A Rose

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Lake Trout ◽

Fish Population ◽

Population Models ◽

Site Specific ◽

Density Dependent ◽

Population Responses ◽

Adult Growth ◽

Specific Factors

Relationships between fish population responses to changes in their vital rates and commonly available life history traits would be a powerful screening tool to guide management about species vulnerability, to focus future data collection on species and life stages of concern, and to aid in designing effective habitat enhancements. As an extension of previous analyses by others, I analyzed the responses to changes in fecundity and yearling survival of age-structured matrix and individual-based population models of 17 populations comprising 10 species. Simulations of the matrix models showed that the magnitude of population responses, but not the relative order of species sensitivity, depended on the state (sustainable or undergoing excessive removals) of the population. Matrix and individual-based models predicted population responses that appeared to be unrelated to their species-level life history traits when responses were plotted on a three-end-point life history surface. Density-dependent adult growth was added to the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) matrix model, and simulations demonstrated the potential importance to predicted responses of density-dependent processes outside the usual spawnerrecruit relationship. Four reasons for the lack of relationship between population responses and life history traits related to inadequate population models, incorrect analysis, inappropriate life history model, and important site-specific factors are discussed.

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An early nineteenth century meteorological register from the eastern Canadian Arctic

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247400013887 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 31 (178) ◽

pp. 335-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul A. Kay

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Research Centre ◽

Historical Reconstruction ◽

Early Nineteenth Century ◽

Northwest Passage ◽

Time Periods ◽

Modern Experience ◽

Eastern Canadian Arctic

AbstractSignificant warming in the Arctic is anticipated for doubled-CO2 scenarios, but temperatures in the eastern Canadian Arctic have not yet exhibited that trend in the last few decades. The spatial juxtaposition of the winter station in 1822–1823 of William Edward Parry's Northwest Passage expedition with the modern Igloolik Research Centre of the Science Institute of the Northwest Territories affords an opportunity for historical reconstruction and comparison. Parry's data are internally consistent. The association of colder temperatures with westerly and northerly winds, and wanner temperatures with easterly and southerly winds, is statistically significant. Temperatures are not exactly comparable between the two time periods because of differences in instrumentation, exposure, and frequency of readings. Nevertheless, in 1822–1823, November and December appear to have been cold and January to March mild compared to modern experience. Anomalously, winds were more frequently northerly (and less frequently westerly) in the latter months than in recent observations. Parry recorded two warm episodes in mid-winter, but, overall, it appears that the winter of 1822–1823 was not outside the range of modern experience.

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