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Mercury in Fish and Waterfowl from Ball Lake, Ontario
Author(s) -
Annett C. S.,
D'Itri F. M.,
Ford J. R.,
Prince H. H.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1975.00472425000400020018x
Subject(s) - mercury (programming language) , waterfowl , pike , fishery , wet weight , muscle tissue , zoology , atomic absorption spectroscopy , mercure , environmental chemistry , environmental science , biology , chemistry , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , anatomy , habitat , analytical chemistry (journal) , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language , endocrinology
A total of 323 fish samples representing 8 species and 26 waterfowl samples of 3 species were collected from the Ball Lake area of the Wabigoon‐English River systems in northwestern Ontario and analyzed for total mercury levels by the flameless atomic absorption method. The average total mercury concentrations of walleye and pike were 3.24 and 5.55 mg/kg (wet Weight), respectively. The highest total mercury concentrations found during this study were 19.71 and 16.09 mg/kg (wet weight), respectively, in the muscle tissue of a walleye and pike. Frequency distributions of the total mercury concentrations in the fish are presented by species and sampling location. The highest average mercury levels in the breast muscle and liver tissue of three species of waterfowl were 8.36 and 98.56 mg/kg (wet weight), respectively.