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Multiple environmental variables influence diatom assemblages across an arsenic gradient in 33 subarctic lakes near abandoned gold mines

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Abstract

We examined surface sediment diatom assemblages from 33 subarctic lakes around the historic gold mines in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Canada), where lake-water As concentrations ([As]) still range between 1.5 and 2,780 µg/l, even though the roasting of the arsenopyrite-bearing gold ores ceased in 1999. Water chemistry variables related to gold mining pollution (arsenic, antimony, and sulfate) declined with increasing distance from the mines. The diatom assemblages varied substantially in species composition across our study lakes with the planktonic Discostella stelligera/pseudostelligera complex dominating in deep lakes where [As] were less than 5 µg/l. However, in lakes that exceeded the guideline for the protection of aquatic life ([As] > 5 µg/l), opportunistic benthic diatoms (small fragilarioid taxa and Achnanthidium minutissimum) were generally present in higher abundances. The subtle differences in diatom species richness and diversity among lakes with varying [As] suggest these indices may not be affected strongly by long-term arsenic pollution. Furthermore, canonical correspondence analysis of the diatom assemblage and environmental data indicated that nutrient and ionic compounds explained most of the variation in the assemblages, while mining-related variables played a limited role. Our results indicate that multiple limnological variables (nutrients, ions, and contaminants) and subarctic climatic conditions are important factors shaping the diatom assemblage composition in lakes impacted by mining activities and land-use changes near Yellowknife.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Brian Cumming, Matthew Duda, Neal Michelutti, Kathleen Rühland, Jamie Summers, and Emily Stewart for various discussions. We also gratefully acknowledge field assistance by Mija Azdajic, Cynthia Cheney, Kristen Coleman, Dave Eickmeyer, Kirsten Maitland, Mike Palmer, Christopher Schuh, Emily Stewart, and Joshua Thienpont. Water chemistry analysis by Judy Mah and the Taiga Environmental Laboratory are also acknowledged. This manuscript benefitted greatly from the constructive feedback provided by two anonymous reviewers. This study was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Strategic Grant and Polar Continental Shelf Program Grants to Jules Blais and John Smol, as well as an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship D, Northern Scientific Training Program, W. Garfield Weston Scholarship for Northern Research (Doctoral), and an Arthur B. McDonald Prize to Branaavan Sivarajah.

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  1. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Branaavan Sivarajah & John P. Smol

  2. Department of Geography, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jennifer B. Korosi

  3. Laboratory for the Analysis of Natural and Synthetic Environmental Toxicants, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Jules M. Blais

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  1. Branaavan Sivarajah
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Sivarajah, B., Korosi, J.B., Blais, J.M. et al. Multiple environmental variables influence diatom assemblages across an arsenic gradient in 33 subarctic lakes near abandoned gold mines. Hydrobiologia 841, 133–151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04014-1

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