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Dietary Reliance on Benthic Primary Production as a Predictor of Mercury Accumulation in Freshwater Fish and Turtles

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Abstract

The feeding ecology of a species can affect the transfer and accumulation of contaminants such as mercury (Hg). Modeling the accumulation of Hg through food webs can help identify which animals are likely to be burdened by elevated Hg concentrations. In lakes, most of the Hg is sequestered in the sediments. Therefore, species ultimately relying on benthic primary production may experience a greater trophic transfer of Hg relative to species that rely on pelagic primary production. This hypothesis was tested in a simple food web using muscle tissue collected from three species of fish (Lepomis gibbosus, Notropis heterodon, and Labidesthes sicculus) and blood from two species of turtles (Sternotherus odoratus and Chrysemys picta) that differ in reliance on benthic primary production. Averaged multiple linear regression models were used to predict Hg concentrations in the five consumers with respect to reliance on benthic primary production, while controlling for other factors known to influence Hg accumulation (sex, size, lake, species identity, and trophic level). A positive and significant relationship was found between Hg burden and dietary reliance on benthic primary production, animal length, trophic level, and species identity in fish. In turtles, the relationship between Hg burden and dietary reliance on benthic primary production was not significant, but trophic level, animal length, and species identity significantly influenced Hg burden. Overall, reliance on benthic primary production was an important predictor of Hg burden for fish, but not for turtles. Future attempts to model Hg accumulation in similar study systems and/or fish species should include dietary reliance on benthic primary production as a predictor variable.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to G. Slevan-Tremblay, M. Salaun-Miller, M. Brown, and C. Stewart for their help in the field and in the laboratory. We appreciated logistical support from the staff of the Queen’s University Biological Station. We sincerely appreciate the work that was performed in the G.G. Hatch Stable Isotope Laboratory and the Poulain Laboratory at the University of Ottawa for all sample analyses. We are also very thankful for the helpful comments provided by F. Pick and J. Blais on the MSc thesis from which this manuscript arose. Finally, this study was made possible with the financial and logistical support of Parks Canada and of the University of Ottawa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Julie L. Châteauvert, Alexandre J. Poulain & Gabriel Blouin-Demers

  2. Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S SB6, Canada

    Gregory Bulté

  3. Department of Biology, Saint-Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 3C3, Canada

    Linda M. Campbell

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  1. Julie L. Châteauvert
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Correspondence to Julie L. Châteauvert.

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Châteauvert, J.L., Bulté, G., Poulain, A.J. et al. Dietary Reliance on Benthic Primary Production as a Predictor of Mercury Accumulation in Freshwater Fish and Turtles. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 337 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2610-4

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