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Organochlorine contaminants in wild mink from the lower Great Lakes basin, Canada, 1998–2006

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Abstract

Organochlorine contaminants were measured in livers of wild mink (Neovison vison) trapped in the lower Great Lakes basin from 1998 to 2006. To assess exposure and potential risk in mink feeding on Great Lakes biota, concentrations of contaminants were compared in mink trapped within 7.8 km of the shoreline as well as at inland sites (i.e., 8–40 km). Overall, significant spatial variation in mean hepatic concentrations of sum PCBs and seven other organochlorines was found in mink from 13 Great Lakes sites, many of which are within the Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Mean sum PCB concentrations, on a lipid weight basis, ranged from 2 μg/g in mink from inland Lake Ontario sites to 44 μg/g in mink from western Lake Erie. Concentrations of other organochlorines in mink were generally low. Mink from western Lake Erie had the highest mean cumulative organochlorine burdens dominated largely by PCBs. A significant age effect was found with 1-year-old mink having significantly higher PCB burdens than mink less than 1 year in age. With respect to published PCB threshold effect concentrations, some mink exceeded those associated with effects on reproduction and survival as well as the presence of jaw lesions. This was most consistently found in western Lake Erie where the health of populations of wild mink may be adversely affected and where no mink 2 years of age or older were collected.

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Acknowledgments

Our thanks to the many trappers who provided mink carcasses and trapping records as well as the City of Hamilton for providing access to road-killed mink. Chris Heydon of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources provided assistance in planning and contacting of commercial mink trappers. Glenn Barrett of Environment and Climate Change Canada provided assistance in the field and the laboratory. The Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Great Lakes Action Plan provided funding for this project. This paper is dedicated to our colleague and friend Bruce Hunter who passed away before this manuscript was completed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Climate Change Canada, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada

    Pamela A. Martin & Tana V. McDaniel

  2. Broadwing Biological Consulting, 1944 Parkside Drive, Pickering, Ontario, L1V 3N5, Canada

    Kimberley D. Hughes

  3. Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Bruce Hunter

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  1. Pamela A. Martin
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  2. Tana V. McDaniel
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  3. Kimberley D. Hughes
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  4. Bruce Hunter
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Correspondence to Pamela A. Martin.

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Bruce Hunter, deceased

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Martin, P.A., McDaniel, T.V., Hughes, K.D. et al. Organochlorine contaminants in wild mink from the lower Great Lakes basin, Canada, 1998–2006. Environ Monit Assess 189, 459 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6154-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6154-5

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