Mercury concentrations in northern pike, Esox lucius L., in small lakes of Evo area, southern Finland

Abstract

We measured Hg concentrations in northern pike (Esox lucius) from 17 small lakes in Evo forest area, Lammi, southern Finland. The mean Hg concentration in muscle tissue of a 1 kg pike ranged from 0.15 to 1.36 μg g⁻¹ (ww) in the lakes. There was a trend towards higher concentrations in acidic and humic lakes than in circumneutral and clear-water lakes. The Hg content of pike from successive lakes of a lake chain was similar, whereas there were clear differences in the Hg concentrations among seepage lakes and the uppermost lakes of other lake chains. The latter was probably due to special characteristics of the lakes: in one lake pike was the only fish species, two of the lakes were regulated by beaver, and one lake was a groundwater or spring lake. Our observations indicate that Hg concentrations in pike can vary considerably from lake to lake in a small geographical area and that the variation among lakes in the accumulation of Hg in fish largely depends on lake characteristics and on the diet of pike.