Abstract
Some studies have shown that the early life stages of salmonids are particularly sensitive to elevated concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS). We evaluated the effect of TDS released in treated effluent into Snap Lake (Northwest Territories, Canada) by the Snap Lake Diamond Mine on two salmonids native to Snap Lake: Salvenius namaycush (lake trout) and Thymallus arcticus (Arctic grayling). Exposures encompassed the embryo–alevin–fry early life stages and extended to 142 days for lake trout and 69 days for Arctic grayling. Such extended testing is uncommon with these two species. Two exposures were conducted with each species, one initiated prior to fertilization, and the other subsequent to fertilization. Fertilization, survival, and growth were not adversely affected for either species by TDS at concentrations >1400 mg/L, with the exception of survival of lake trout, which produced an LC20 of 991 mg/L in one test, and >1484 mg/L in the second test. For the specific TDS composition tested, which was dominated by chloride (45 %–47 %) and calcium (20 %–21 %), the early life stages of these two fish species were relatively insensitive. Although some authors have suggested lower TDS regulatory limits for salmonid early life stages, our study indicates that this is not necessary, at least for these two fish species and for the specific ionic composition tested.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the following laboratory staff at Nautilus Environmental for their expert assistance: Jacob Frank, Jeslin Wijaya, Emma Marus, Edmund Canaria, and Andy Diewald. The authors also thank the De Beers Canada Inc. Snap Lake Mine for funding this research as part of studies done to enable the environmentally safe operation of the Snap Lake Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
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Baker, J.A., Elphick, J.R., McPherson, C.A. et al. Effect of Total Dissolved Solids on Fertilization and Development of Two Salmonid Species. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 95, 488–493 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1589-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1589-2