collaborative meeting on modeling mercury in freshwater environments data constraints on model...
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Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments
Data constraints on Model Testing: An overview of the available MOE data in
Lake Ontario Fish
January 19-20, 2006
Alan HaytonSport Fish and Biomonitoring Unit
Ministry of EnvironmentEnvironmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch
• 1970 - Fish contaminant monitoring started in Ontario to address Hg problem in St. Clair River
• 1975 - SFCMP started to consolidate all monitoring• 1977 - Guide publication started• 2005 - Guide produced biennially- 350,000 copies/issue
- advice on 1700+ locations (Great Lakes and interconnecting channels and inland lakes and rivers)
• Database ~1,500,000 records +60,000 annually• Analyze >5,000 fish annually• Contaminants – Total mercury in all samples; metals,
PCBs, dioxins, furans, dioxin-like PCBs, OC pesticides, emerging contaminants
Sport Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program
• Collect fish over broad size range• Analyze individual fish• Power-series regression curve • Provide consumption advice for 5 cm range (15cm - >75 cm)• Resample frequency depends on number of factors
Sport Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program
Sampling protocol
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
4 meals / month
no consumption
8 meals per month
Lake Ontario Sampling Blocks
Blocks based on number of factors:
• Uniform contaminant concentrations
• Advice from MNR Fisheries biologists
• Commercial fish zones
• Where people fish
• Access points
• Sport fish from Lake Ontario have been analyzed for mercury in all collections between 1975 and 2005
• In FISHBASE, ~ 13,500 records for mercury analysis on Lake Ontario sport fish exist
• 36 species collected: carp, smelt, walleye, northern pike, freshwater drum, pumpkinseed, bluegill, lake trout, coho salmon, chinook salmon, channel catfish, rock bass, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass….
Lake Ontario Sport Fish
Lake Ontario Sport Fish
Mercury in 65cm Coho Salmon from the Credit River
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
Mer
cury
(p
pm
)
Mercury in 60cm Lake Trout from the Western Basin of Lake Ontario
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Mer
cury
(ppm
)
Mercury in 45cm Walleye from the Upper Bay of Quinte
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
Mer
cury
(ppm
)
Mercury in 80cm Chinook Salmon from the Credit River
.00
.10
.20
.30
.40
.50
Mer
cury
(ppm
)
Lake Ontario Sport Fish
Mercury in 40cm Freshwater Drum from the Upper & Lower Niagara River
00.10.20.30.40.50.60.7
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
Me
rcu
ry (
pp
m)
Lower
Upper
Credit River Sport Fish
Average annual mercury concentrations in (a) chinook salmon (>75cm) and (b) coho salmon (>55cm). Sample size for each species is approx. 325-350cm.
Source: MOE, Todd French, 2006
[Hg] = -0.006(yr) + 0.375(r2=0.50, P<0.001)
[Hg] = -0.006(yr) + 0.292(r2=0.49, P=0.001)
Ave
rag
e T
Hg
bur
den
(ug
/g
+/-
1 S
D
• Routinely monitors persistent toxic contaminants in forage fish in the Great Lakes and selected inland lakes and rivers
• Forage fish are ideal biomonitors and are useful
for identifying point sources and temporal trends because of their restricted home range (more effective than sport fish)
• Contaminant concentrations in forage fish are compared to tissue residue guidelines (IJC, CCME, NYSDEC)
• These guidelines are based on mammalian and avian studies and are set by various agencies as guidelines for the protection of wildlife consumers of aquatic biota
Forage Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program
• Monitoring forage fish in each of the Great Lakes on a 4 year rotating basis
• Niagara River is currently monitored annually
• Typically 5 replicates per site separated on size
Forage Fish Contaminant Monitoring
Lake Ontario Forage Fish
• Forage fish have been collected from several areas around Lake Ontario since 1977.
• However, mercury analysis was not performed in many of the historical datasets.
• Since 1996, mercury analysis has become a routine in all of the forage fish samples
• A few key areas have a more complete mercury record, such as Niagara River, Humber River, Credit River, Toronto Islands, Burlington Beach and Port Weller.
Lake Ontario Forage FishMercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at
Lewiston
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
1977
1980
1983
1986
1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
Mer
cury
(p
pm
)
Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Queenston
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
Mer
cury
(p
pm
)
Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Niagara-on-the-Lake
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
1977
1980
1983
1986
1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
Mer
cury
(p
pm
)
Mercury in Forage Fish from Niagara River at Cayuga Creek
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
Merc
ury
(p
pm
)
Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Burlington Beach
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Toronto Outer Harbour
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Mercury in Forage Fish from Lake Ontario at Toronto Inner Harbour
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Lake Ontario Forage Fish