Perfluorinated and Polyfluorinated Compounds in Lake Food Webs from the Canadian High Arctic

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2015 papers

Abstract

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) enter Arctic lakes through long-range atmospheric transport and local contamination, but their behavior in aquatic food webs at high latitudes is poorly understood. This study compared the concentrations of perfluorocarboxylates, perfluorosulfonates, and fluorotelomer sulfonates (FTS) in biotic and abiotic samples from six high Arctic lakes near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Two of these lakes are known to be locally contaminated by a small airport and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from these lakes had over 100 times higher total [PFAS] when compared to fish from neighboring lakes. Perfluorononanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) dominated in char, benthic chironomids (their main prey), and sediments, while pelagic zooplankton and water were dominated by lower chain acids and perfluorodecanesulfonate (PFDS). This study also provides the first measures of perfluoroethylcyclohexanesulfonate (PFECHS) and FTS compounds in water, sediment, juvenile char, and benthic invertebrates from lakes in the high Arctic. Negative relationships between [PFAS] and δ(15)N values (indicative of trophic position) within these food webs indicated no biomagnification. Overall, these results suggest that habitat use and local sources of contamination, but not trophic level, are important determinants of [PFAS] in biota from freshwater food webs in the Canadian Arctic.

Related Papers

• → Natural Hybridization between Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) and Brook Trout (S. fontinalis): Evidence from Northern Labrador(1991)60 cited
• → Cytogenetic identification of genomic elements of brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) in the karyotype of Arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus ) from the aquaculture broodstock(2019)2 cited
• → Production of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in a small mountain lake(2002)2 cited
• → NON-DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE MONITORING OF ARCTIC CHAR SALVELINUS ALPINUS (L.) IN IRISH LOUGHS I. FYKE NETTING(2012)1 cited
• → NON-DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE MONITORING OF ARCTIC CHAR SALVELINUS ALPINUS (L.) IN IRISH LOUGHS II. SNORKELLING TO ASSESS SPAWNING SUCCESS AND INCUBATION PERIOD(2012)