Environmental monitoring and research (2017-2018)

Table of Contents

Northern Contaminants Air Monitoring: Organic Pollutant Measurements

Project leader(s)

Hayley Hung, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

National Laboratory for Environmental Testing (NLET) Analytical Team, P. Falletta and E. Barresi (NLET), Fiona Wong (ECCC), L. Jantunen (ECCC), D. Muir (ECCC), C. Teixeira (ECCC), P. Fellin (AirZOne, AZ), H. Li (AZ), C. Geen (AZ), Ellen Sedlack (INAC), James MacDonald (Council of Yukon First Nations CYFN, YK), Derek Cooke (Ta’än Kwach’än Council, YK), Jamie Thomas (IK student to be hired by CYFN, YK), A. Steffen (ECCC), Nick Alexandrou (ECCC), Helena Dryfhout-Clark (ECCC), Organics Analysis Laboratory (OAL) Analytical Team (ECCC), Alert GAW Laboratory Staff (ECCC), Laberge Environmental Services

Funds

$187,207

Plain language summary

The atmosphere is the main pathway for organic contaminants to enter Arctic ecosystems. This project involves the measurement of these contaminants in Arctic air. It is part of a continuing monitoring program started in 1992. Measuring how much organic pollutants are present in Arctic air over time will provide us information on whether their air concentrations are decreasing, increasing or not changing over time; where these chemicals have come from; how much from which region and what climate conditions influence their movement to the Arctic. Results from this continuing project are used to negotiate and evaluate the effectiveness of international control agreements, to assess risks of new contaminants, and to test atmospheric models that explain contaminant movement from sources in the South to the Arctic. In FY2017-18, weekly sampling will continue at the baseline site of Alert, Nunavut.

 

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Air measurements of mercury at Alert, Nunavut and Little Fox Lake, Yukon

Project leader(s)

A. Steffen, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

A. Steffen, H. Hung, G. Stupple (ECCC)

G. Skelton (Skelton Technical Services)

E. Sedlack (INAC)

Alert GAW Laboratory Staff (ECCC)

G. Lawson and J.Kirk (ECCC, ACRD)

J. MacDonald (CYFN)

D. Cooke (Ta’än Kwach’än Council)

Laberge Environmental Services

B. Bergquist (University of Toronto)

Jamie Thomas (student to be hired by CYFN, YK)

Funds

$115,700

Plain language summary

This project looks at the levels of mercury in the Arctic air from Alert, Nunavut and Little Fox Lake, Yukon. The primary goals of this project are to look at changes of mercury levels over time and understand how it behaves in the air. Mercury is in the air as a gas or attached to dust (particles). As a gas, it stays in the air a long time but on particles it can fall onto the surface and end up in the ecosystem. This study provides data on how much mercury is in the air, how it is brought into the Arctic by air and how much falls from the air onto ground. The data collected is used in mathematical models to predict future scenarios of Hg levels in the Arctic air. This information supports national and international policies to control the release of Hg worldwide. This research also contributes to understanding how climate change may influence Hg contamination in the Arctic. Finally, this research provides a part of the overall puzzle to try to understand how Hg affects those living in the north.

 

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Passive Air Sampling Network for Organic Pollutants and Mercury

Project leader(s)

Hayley Hung and Sandy Steffen, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

H. Hung, A. Steffen, L. Jantunen, F. Wong, T. Harner, G. Stupple (ECCC)

Ellen Sedlack (INAC)

James MacDonald, Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN)

Derek Cooke, Ta’än Kwach’än Council

Jamie Thomas (IK student to be hired by CYFN, YK)

Organics Analysis Lab (OAL) (ECCC)

C. Mitchell, F. Wania (University of Toronto)

Michael Barrett, Véronique Gilbert, Monica Nashak (Kativik Regional Government Administration)

Donald S. McLennan, Angulalik Pedersen, Dwayne Beattie, Johann Wagner (Polar Knowledge Canada)

Michael Brown, Meaghan Bennett (INAC)

David Oberg, Chris Spencer (Nunavut’s Department of Environment)

Erika Hille, Annika Trimble, Edwin Amos, Andrew Gordon, Jolie Gareis (Aurora College)

Diane Giroux, Annie Boucher (Akaitcho Territory Government)

Rosie Bjornson, Kathleen Fjordy, Patrick Simon (Deninu Kue First Nation (DKFN), Fort Resolution)

Arthur Beck and Shawn Mckay (Fort Resolution Métis Council)

Tausia Lal (Hamlet of Fort Resolution)

Rodd Laing, Liz Pijogge (Nunatsiavut Government)

Tim Heron (Northwest Territory Métis Nation)

Funds

$34,811

Plain language summary

This project will measure pollutants, namely persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury, in the air at multiple locations across Canada’s North. We will increase the number of sites across the north where we can measure, to get a more comprehensive picture of the levels of pollutants. The project will ramp up over a few years, eventually producing air concentrations of multiple pollutants at a network of sites across the north. These data will help researchers determine the paths that pollutants take to get to the Arctic and, how changes in sources and the landscape affect how mercury and POPs travel through the air and enter the Arctic environment. Passive air samplers and sampling material were sent to 7 sites across the North to start air sampling in October 2014. Most sites are in full operation and we continue to work on resolving the issues to get all sites up and running. Field tests for developing a passive mercury air sampler are progressing well. We have started to analyse samples collected thus far for POPs and are working on an extensive field test of the mercury passive sampler. A northern student has been engaged to research on indigenous knowledge in the Yukon region which may be used in the air monitoring projects for POPs and mercury.

 

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Temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants and metals in ringed seals from the Canadian Arctic

Project leader(s)

Magali Houde and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

Tom Sheldon, Rodd Laing, and Liz Pijogge, Environment Division, Nunatsiavut Government

Xiaowa Wang, ACRD, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Amila de Silva, ACRD, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Enzo Barresi, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Mary Williamson, Amy Sett, ACRD, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Brent Young, Fisheries and Oceans

Aaron Fisk, Dept. of Biology, University of Windsor

Funds

$48,380

Plain language summary

The major questions that this project is addressing are 1) how are concentrations of legacy contaminants, such as PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as well as mercury, changing over time in ringed seals? and 2) are trends similar across the Canadian Arctic? Trends of new contaminants are also investigated. The project currently involves annual sampling at Sachs Harbour, Resolute Bay, Arviat, and Nain. In 2017-18, only mercury and heavy metals will be analysed at all 4 locations; new/emerging POPs will be determined at two locations., Sachs Harbour and Arviat.

Results of this core monitoring project indicate that concentrations of legacy chemicals, such as PCBs and organochlorine (OC) pesticides like DDT, continue to decline slowly. Mercury concentrations in liver and muscle vary from year to year but overall are not increasing. Some brominated and fluorinated chemicals have increased until about 2005 but are now declining in concentrations in seals. The annual measurements have demonstrated that seals are very good indicators of changing uses and production of chemicals widely used in consumer and industrial products.

 

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Temporal and Spatial Trends of Legacy and Emerging Organic and Metal/Element Contaminants in Canadian Polar Bears

Project leader(s)

Robert Letcher, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Carleton University

Team

Markus Dyck, Government of Nunavut

Abde Idrissi, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Carleton University

Aaron Fisk, University of Windsor

Adam Morris, Carleton University

Pat Faletta, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Eva Kruemmel (ScienTissiME), for Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)

Joel Heath, The Arctic Eider Society

Funds

$34,630

Plain language summary

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the top predator of the arctic marine ecosystem and food web. Starting in 2007 and ongoing in 2017-2018 fiscal year, on a biennial or annual basis, this project assesses long-term temporal trends and changes of persistent (legacy and emerging) organic and elemental pollutants (POPs) in polar bears on the southern and western Hudson Bay (Nunavut) subpopulations. The present 2017 monitoring year is an odd year and thus legacy POPs (i.e., PCBs, chlordanes, DDTs and ClBzs) will not be monitored. For 2017, sample data will be generated for essentially all of the emerging POPs that are NCP priorities and including total-mercury. To more clearly reveal temporal trends, emerging POP concentration variance due to confounding factors is being determined from collected data for age, sex, body condition, time of collection, lipid content, and diet and food web structure. Northern peoples are integral partners as they carry out the annual harvest of polar bears and provide the collected tissue samples for this POP/Hg monitoring.

 

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Temporal trends of mercury and halogenated organic compounds in Hendrickson Island, Sanikiluaq and Pangnirtung beluga.

Project leader(s)

Gary A. Stern, University of Manitoba,

Lisa Loseto, Steve Ferguson, and Cortney Watt, Fisheries and Oceans Canada,

Team

Sonja Ostertag (DFO, FWI), Alexis Burt (University of Manitoba), Kerri Pleskach (DFO), Bruno Rosenberg (DFO), Ashley Gaden (University of Manitoba), Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC), Liisa Jantunen (ECCC), Tom Harner (ECCC)

Funds

$40,675

Plain language summary

The objectives of this project are to maintain current data on contaminant levels in Arctic beluga and to continue to assess the temporal trends of bioaccumulating substances such as heavy metals and halogenated organic compounds (HOCs). This will allow us to determine whether contaminant levels in the beluga, and hence exposure to Arctic people who traditionally consume them, are changing with time. These results will also help to test the effectiveness of international controls and, in conjunction with projects such as ArcticNet and BREA to understand the effects that climate variation may have on these contaminant levels. Climate variation has been attributed to observed changes to atmospheric sea-level pressure, wind fields, sea-ice drift, ice cover length of melt season, precipitation patterns, hydrology and ocean currents and water mass distribution. It is almost certain that these primary changes have altered the carbon cycle, trophic relationships between species, and biological systems but the difficulty of observing these changes together with existing irregular, incomplete time series measurements makes it exceedingly difficult to discern what these changes have been. Because contaminants enter global systems and transport through the air and water, the changes listed above will clearly alter contaminants pathways and ultimately the levels observed in the Arctic marine ecosystem.

 

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Temporal Trends of Contaminants in Arctic Seabird Eggs

Project leader(s)

Birgit Braune, Environment and Climate Change Canada,

Mark Mallory, Acadia University,

Kyle Elliott, McGill University

Team

Abde Miftah Idrissi, Guy Savard, Robert Letcher, Amie Black, Paul Smith, Grant Gilchrist; Environment and Climate Change Canada

Funds:

$77,125

Plain language summary

Contaminants have been monitored in seabird eggs collected from Prince Leopold Island in the Canadian high Arctic since 1975. It is now the longest-running contaminants monitoring program for seabird eggs in the circumpolar Arctic. Sampling of thick-billed murre eggs from Coats Island in northern Hudson Bay was initiated in 1993 to provide a low Arctic monitoring location for comparative purposes. Declines have occurred in most of the legacy organochlorines (e.g. PCBs, DDT) as well as dioxins and furans. Mercury has been increasing, but those trends may now be plateauing. This past year, we have been investigating the relationships between climate change variables and contaminant patterns and trends in the seabird eggs at Prince Leopold Island. Climate change appears to have a small, but significant, effect on contaminant concentrations in seabird eggs at that location. Annual monitoring of thick-billed murre and northern fulmar eggs at Prince Leopold Island and thick-billed murre eggs at Coats Island since 2005 has improved the power of those time series. However, the Sulukvait Area Co-Management Committee (ACMC) has raised concerns regarding annual seabird research and monitoring activities carried out at Prince Leopold Island. Environment and Climate Change Canada will continue its efforts to communicate to the ACMC the relevance and importance of data and information generated by the field program at Prince Leopold Island and discuss options for future research and monitoring activities.

 

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Temporal trends and spatial variations in mercury in sea-run Arctic char from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

Project leader(s)

Marlene S. Evans, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

Ekaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay) Hunters & Trappers Organization; Les Harris, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Milla Rautio, Univeristé du Québec à Chicoutimi; Donald S. McLennan, Canadian High Arctic Research Station; Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Jonathan Keating, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Xiaowa Wang, Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Funds

$16,100

Plain language summary

This study will continue to investigate trends in mercury concentrations (and metals) in sea-run (anadromous) Arctic char from the domestic fishery at Ekaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay). Although mercury concentrations are low in these Arctic char, we are continuing to monitor them as part of our investigations as to how mercury trends are responding to changes in climate, air circulation patterns, and Asian and other mercury emissions. As in previous years, 20 Arctic char will be harvested from the sea by local fishermen and provided to us for analyses; we will work with the Hunters and Trappers Organization in these collections. In addition, we will continue to collaborate with others investigating features of Arctic char biology and their environment including Les Harris who is conducting stock assessments on the major river/lake systems supporting the commercial fishery, Donald McLennan with the Canadian High Arctic Research Station who is working to develop a monitoring program on Grenier Lake, and Milla Rautio, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, who is conducting biodiversity and productivity studies in Grenier and other nearby lakes and is investigating fatty acid composition, including char being provided by us. As part of these studies, we will continue our lake trout and Arctic char collections from this lake, again involving Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers. We will visit in summer 2017 to provide an update on study results, explore opportunities for additional study of these Arctic char, and conduct limited field sampling.

 

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Temporal trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Mercury in Landlocked char in the High Arctic

Project leader(s)

Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Günter Köck, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Studies (ÖAW-IGF), Austria

Team

Debbie Iqaluk, Resolute Bay; Ana Cabrerizo, Jacques Carrier and Enzo Barresi Environment and Climate Change Canada; Ben Barst, McGill University; Xiaowa Wang, Camilla Teixeira, Amber Gleason, Amy Sett and Mary Williamson, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Funds

$49,150

Plain language summary

This project is investigating how concentrations of contaminants in landlocked Arctic char from lakes in Nunavut are changing over time. Our approach is to measure concentrations of pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in the fish each year to see if levels are decreasing or increasing. Since 1999 we have continued to sample Resolute and Char Lakes each year and have added Amituk Lake, Hazen Lake in Quttinirpaaq National Park on Ellesmere Island, as well as North and Small Lakes, west of Resolute Bay. The project now has information on long term (11-20 sampling years over about 25 years) trends of POPs and mercury and we are able to investigate factors influencing contaminant levels in landlocked char such as time of ice out in the lakes, diet of the char and climate warming.

All of the fish collected so far have been analysed for mercury. Toxic metals such as cadmium as well as essential elements such as selenium have also been determined. A smaller number have been analysed for PCBs and other POPs including new contaminants. Mercury concentrations in Arctic char have declined in Amituk, Resolute, North, and Char lakes but are increasing slowly in Small Lake. Concentrations of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides are low and have generally declined in all four study lakes over the period 1992/93 to 2015 although a small increase in PCBs has been observed in Resolute Lake from 2009 to 2015. In 2017-18 we plan to continue annual sampling of Amituk, North, Small, Hazen, and Resolute lakes. We will analyse samples for mercury, multielements, and selected new and emerging contaminants only.

 

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Spatial and long-term trends in persistent organic contaminants and metals in lake trout and burbot from the Northwest Territories

Project leader(s)

Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Marlene S. Evans, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

Rosy Bjornson and Diane Giroux, Akaitcho Territory Government, Fort Resolution; Lauren King, Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation; George Low and Mike Low, Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management Program; Xinhua Zhu, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Jonathan Keating, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Xiaowa Wang and Sean Backus, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Funds

$48,800

Plain language summary

Our study is measuring trends in mercury, other metals, and persistent organic pollutants in lake trout and burbot from three locations in two regions of Great Slave Lake. Lake trout will be obtained from the domestic fishery at Lutsel K’e (East Arm) and the commercial fishery operating out of Hay River (West Basin); burbot will be obtained from the domestic fishery at Fort Resolution (West Basin), located on the Slave River delta. Twenty fish of each species will be harvested from each location by community members. In 2017, chemical analyses will include mercury, metals, legacy persistent organic contaminants (e.g. PCBs, DDT), and new and emerging contaminants (PBDEs, PFCAs) with 10 fish from each location and species analyzed; while not all fish will be analyzed for organic contaminants, tissues will be archived for potential analyses at a later date. We will update our trend analyses of organic contaminants in lake trout and burbot in Great Slave Lake and our synthesis of our mercury trend investigations in several species of fish from Great Slave Lake and other areas in the NWT. Results will be reported to our partner communities in a coordinated visit to the Great Slave Lake area, ideally in summer. This will provide us with the opportunity to discuss study results, explore expanded community partnerships, and conduct lake sampling and training while on site.

 

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Temporal trend studies of trace metals and halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs), including new and emerging persistent compounds, in Mackenzie River burbot, Fort Good Hope, NWT

Project leader(s)

Gary Stern, University of Manitoba

Team

Alexis Burt (CEOS), Liisa Jantunen (ECCC), Tom Harner (ECCC), Fort Good Hope Renewable Resource Council and community members

Funds

$34,604

Plain language summary

The objective of this project is to maintain current data on contaminants levels in Mackenzie River burbot (Rampart Rapids, Fort Good Hope) and to continue to assess the temporal trends of bioaccumulating substances such as trace metals (e.g. mercury and selenium), organochlorine contaminants (e.g. PCBs, DDT, toxaphene and selected current use chemicals such as brominated flame retardants (e.g. PBDEs) and fluorinated organic compounds (e.g. PFOS and it’s precursors) so as to determine whether the levels of these contaminants in fish (health of the fish stock) and thus exposure to people living in Arctic communities who consume them as part of their traditional diet, are increasing or decreasing with time.

Tissues from burbot collected at Fort Good Hope (Rampart Rapids) in December 2017 will be analysed for mercury and selenium. Data from this time point will be combined with the existing mercury data (1985, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) together covering a time span of 32 years and 22 time points. As outlined in the NCP Call for proposals, OC analysis will be conducted in 2017. Our current temporal data set consists of 19 time points over 27 years.

 

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Long term trends of halogenated organic contaminants and metals in lake trout from two Yukon Lakes; Kusawa and Laberge

Project leader(s)

Gary Stern, University of Manitoba

Mary Gamberg, Gamberg Consulting

Team

Derek Cooke, Ta’an Kwach’an Council (TKC); Dixie Smeeton, Champagne Aishihik First Nation (CAFN); James Macdonald, Council of Yukon First Nations; Oliver Barker, Environment Yukon; Darrell Otto, Yukon College; Ellen Sedlack, Yukon Contaminants Committee (YCC); Liisa Jantunen (ECCC).

Funds

36,080

Plain language summary

The objective of this project is to maintain current data on contaminants levels in lake trout from two Yukon lakes (Laberge and Kusawa) to continue to assess the temporal trends of bioaccumulating substances such as trace metals (e.g. mercury, selenium, arsenic), organochlorine contaminants (e.g. PCBs, DDT, toxaphene), selected current use chemicals such as brominated flame retardants (e.g. PBDEs), and fluorinated organic compounds (e.g. PFOS and its precursors) so as to determine whether the levels of these contaminants in fish (health of the fish stock) and thus exposure to people who consume them are increasing or decreasing with time. These results will also help to test the effectiveness of international controls. The project will partner with two First Nations who hold traditional territory on each lake (Ta’an Kwach’an on Lake Laberge and Champagne Aishihik on Kusawa Lake) to sample the fish and engage with youth and elders to foster dialogue on contaminants and local and indigenous knowledge.

 

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Arctic Caribou Contaminant Monitoring Program

Project leader(s)

Mary Gamberg, Gamberg Consulting

Team

Mike Suitor, Martin Kienzler and Al Fontaine, Yukon Government; Mary Maje, Ross River Dena Council, YT; Tracy Davis, Government of Northwest Territories; Mitch Campbell, Government of Nunavut; Martha Blake, Inuvik Hunters and Trappers Organization, NT, Alex Ishalook, Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization, NU; Xiaowa Wang and Derek Muir, Environment & Climate Change Canada.

Funds

$85,590

Plain language summary

This project will determine contaminant levels in Canadian Arctic caribou to determine if these populations remain healthy in terms of contaminant loads, whether these important resources remain safe and healthy food choices for northerners and to see if contaminant levels are changing over time.

Previous studies have found that cadmium and mercury levels in caribou kidneys and livers from across the circumpolar north, are higher than in domestic animals grown for food consumption. This has prompted a health advisory from Yukon Health and Social Services, based on a health assessment from Health Canada (a maximum intake of 25 kidneys or 12 entire livers is recommended per person per year for the Porcupine caribou). Although a study by the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment confirmed that traditional foods are safe to eat at the estimated consumption rates they did recommend that a trend-monitoring program be established to verify that the levels are not rising from local or long-range inputs and that new contaminants be addressed as they arise.

This project monitors two caribou herds, the Porcupine (YT) and the Qamanirjuaq (NU) on an annual basis. Monitoring populations from the eastern and western Arctic will give scientists a better understanding of the distribution of contaminants in the Arctic and the variability of contaminant burdens between herds. Two additional herds, Finlayson and Peary caribou from Resolute, will be monitored this year. Twenty animals from each herd will be sampled, and their kidneys analyzed for a suite of 34 elements, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. Livers will be analyzed for one brominated and two fluorinated compounds that have previously been found in caribou.

 

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Community based seawater monitoring for organic contaminants and mercury in the Canadian Arctic

Project leader(s)

Derek Muir, Amila De Silva and Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Rainer Lohmann, University of Rhode Island

Team

Communities

Peter Amarualik Sr, Resolute,

Rodd Laing, Nunatsiavut Government

Liz Pijogge, Nunatsiavut Government

Stephen Insley, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada,

Wayne Gully, Sachs Harbour,

Government

Xiaowa Wang, Christine Spencer and Camila Teixeira, Amber Gleason ECCC,

Ana Cabrerizo, ECCC, and Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA), Spain

Liisa Jantunen, ECCC,

Trevor Brown, Department of Fisheries and Oceans

University

Mohammed Khairy, University of Rhode Island

Dave Adelman, University of Rhode Island

Jean-Sebastien Moore, Université Laval

Nigel Hussey, University of Windsor

Funds

$40,780

Plain language summary

This proposal addresses a knowledge gap that was identified under the NCP “Blueprint”, related to the lack of data on levels and time trends of contaminants in the marine waters. The project started in May 2014 and built on previous work in Barrow Strait near Resolute in 2011 and 2012 and became a “core monitoring” project last year. Seawater samples for a full suite of contaminants were successfully collected from Barrow Strait under ice covered conditions (May-June) and from open water (August-September 2016) using (1) passive samplers (thin plastic films) deployed for 5 to 6 week periods, 2) large volume water samplers (200 L), and 3) Niskin samplers to obtain1 L samples at various depths. A full suite of collections was also carried in Anaktalak Fiord near Nain using passive and Niskin samplers in the open water season in July. Passive samplers were successfully deployed in Wellington Bay near Cambridge Bay, in Barrow Strait, and in the Beaufort Sea near Sachs Harbour in open water in August 2016. Analysis of stain repellent and industrial additive (perfluorinated) chemicals has been completed and show that PFOS has declined to non-detectable levels since the mid-2000s. Mercury concentrations at Barrow Strait (2014-2016) remain unchanged compared to 10 years earlier (2004-05).

For 2017-18, we propose to repeat the sampling in May and August in Barrow Strait and obtain two sampling times in Anaktalak Fiord with help from local community and scientists. In addition, we propose to again deploy passive samplers in the Beaufort Sea near Sachs Harbour, Wellington Bay near Cambridge Bay, as well as in Davis Strait. Ultimately our goal is to extend the existing information on contaminants in seawater at Resolute so that a time series will be developed. Results for other sites would allow comparison to test the representativeness of Barrow Strait as a sampling site. By committing to a long term temporal data set, this project can be used to predict and better understand the impacts of changing ice, permafrost and snow on contaminant levels in seawater.

 

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Assessing Persistent Organic Pollutants in Canadian Arctic Air and Water as an Entry Point into the Arctic Food Chain

Project leader(s)

Liisa M. Jantunen, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

Hayley Hung, Amila De Silva and Derek Muir, ECCC

Gary Stern, Monika Pucko and Alexis Burt, University of Manitoba

Jason Carpenter, Daniel Martin and a Northern Student, to be named Nunavut Arctic College.

Chelsea Rochman’s group, University of Toronto

Funds

$34,500

Plain language summary

In collaboration with ArcticNet, we propose to collect air, water and sediment samples for persistent organic contaminants in the Canadian Archipelago in the summer of 2017. The contaminants we are focusing on are pesticides, flame retardants, fluorine containing compounds and fossil fuel related compounds. The major concern with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is that they are taken up by arctic biota including fish, seals and whales so when traditional foods are eaten, northerners are exposed.

Our group has been conducting research on pesticides in the arctic since the early 1990s. Over the years the types of compounds investigated has evolved as the lists of compounds of concern have expanded. This work is complemented by air sampling at Alert and an arctic cod project targeting the same list of compounds.

We have developed pesticide trends in air and water over time at different locations in the Canadian Archipelago. We propose to continue these trends and to develop trends for the newer target compounds. Generally, the trends show that chemicals that have been banned are declining in air and water where chemicals that are still being used are remaining constant or increasing. We hope to recruit a northern student from Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit to help with sampling.

 

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Investigation of the Toxic Effects of Mercury in Landlocked Arctic Char

Project leader(s):

Niladri (Nil) Basu, Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE)

Benjamin Barst, McGill University

Team:

Paul Drevnick, Alberta Environment and Parks

Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Debbie Iqaluk, Resolute Bay, NU

Günter Köck, Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Innsbruck

Funds:

$56,005

Plain language summary

In the Canadian Arctic, mercury (Hg) concentrations in the tissues of landlocked Arctic char are elevated with ~30% of the sampled populations exceeding toxicity thresholds. Starting in 2011, with NCP funding, we began collecting tissues from landlocked Arctic char from “NCP focal ecosystem lakes” on Cornwallis Island in cooperation with the “core” monitoring project to determine whether wild populations are indeed experiencing Hg toxicity. Results indicate possible subtle effects on reproduction, and more pronounced effects on the liver. Here, in our planned final funding year of a 5-yr effort, we propose to fill data gaps, wrap up activities, and synthesize the overall effort utilizing an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework. We also propose to collect char tissues from four “NCP focal ecosystem” lakes and from two lakes in the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory located on Melville Island to allow us to explore potential effects of Hg in systems undergoing climate-driven changes. Our work is novel in that it goes beyond documenting Hg concentrations in fish and will provide critical knowledge concerning the status of fish health, and as stated in the NCP blueprint “the health of northern Indigenous populations is intimately linked to the health of Arctic ecosystems.”

 

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Impact of climate change on the mobilization and bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in arctic freshwater systems

Project leader(s)

Ana Cabrerizo, Amila De Silva, Derek Muir; Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team:

Jane Kirk, Xiaowa Wang, Chris Spencer, Camila Teixeira, Environment and Climate Change Canada,

Debbie Iqaluk, Resolute Bay, NU

Scott Lamoureux and Melissa Lafreniere, Queen’s University

Funds

$22,800

Plain language summary

This is a proposal to complete the second and final year of a NCP research project to study the effect of climate warming and permafrost melting on organic pollutants in water and fish from two lakes on Melville Island. The proposal addresses a knowledge gap that has been identified under the NCP “Blueprint”, the need for more information on the influence of climate change on availability of contaminants in Arctic ecosystems. Some of the most rapid changes associated with warming are occurring in arctic lakes and their catchments. This project builds on ongoing studies on Melville Island at the Cape Bounty Watershed Observatory (CBWAO) where two lake watersheds have been intensively studied for the past 10 years recording changes in inputs of sediments, organic matter, nutrients and mercury due to permafrost disturbances. These perturbations have been shown to increase the transport and bioavailability of mercury, cesium and rubidium to arctic char, relative to a nearby relatively undisturbed lake. This well studied site provides a unique opportunity to extend this work for the first time to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). In 2016 samples of snow, river and lake water, sediment cores, soils, vegetation, zooplankton, and fish were collected from both lakes and are currently being analysed for POPs including PCBs and fluorinated (stain repellant) chemicals that enter the watersheds from atmospheric deposition in snow and rain. Results for so far show that the trends of the fluorinated chemicals in char in the two lakes, over the period 2008 to 2015, as well as concentrations in lake water, catchment soils, and fish, are similar despite large differences in turbidity of the lake waters. Fish condition and fish lipid content in the impacted lake are declining probably because the turbidity of the water affects feeding. The output of the project will help us to understand the impacts that changing pathways and climatic conditions will have on contaminant transfer from lake catchments to Arctic rivers and lakes and their foodwebs that are important for food and drinking water in northern communities.

 

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Climate change, contaminants, ecotoxicology: interactions in Arctic seabirds at their southern range limits

Project leader(s)

Kyle Elliott, McGill University

Kim Fernie, Environment & Climate Change Canada

Team

B. Braune, R. Letcher; Environment & Climate Change Canada

J. Head; McGill University

Funds

$34,025

Plain language summary

Effects of contaminants on Arctic wildlife are occurring against a backdrop of rapid climate change. Contaminants can cause endocrine disruption and associated impacts on reproduction. Because the endocrine system plays a critical role in allowing animals to respond to environmental stress, endocrine disruption could limit the plasticity of wildlife to respond to climate change. We propose to continue to examine how the ability of seabirds to respond to changing ice conditions is impacted by a suite of selected legacy and NCP-priority contaminants. Our study continues based on the success of Year 1 (2016) of this NCP-funded study, where 38 individuals were tracked via GPS-accelerometers, and concentrations of hormones, mercury, and BFRs were measured (or will soon be measured) in all 38 individuals. PFAS levels were measured in the plasma of 10 individuals. Thus, we exceeded our Year 1 objectives, characterizing NCP-priority contaminants in all of the birds sampled. As ice conditions are never identical across any two years, obtaining data in a second year will not only increase our statistical power but allow us to test inter-year flexibility to ice conditions. Data from 2017 will be particularly interesting given the exceptionally late freeze-up at Hudson Bay in December 2016. We will continue to study thick-billed murres at their southern range limit (Coats Island in July-Aug 2017-18), where climate change is strongly impacting seabird health. When ice breaks up earlier, adults expend more energy to gain less food, and young murres grow more slowly. Hormone systems are likely involved in this phenomenon as high levels of stress hormones (corticosterone) and potentially thermoregulatory hormones (thyroid hormones) impel individuals to increase energy expenditure, fly farther and find alternative prey sources. We expect that high levels of contamination disrupt hormone regulation, decoupling the relationship between hormones and energy expenditure in seabirds. Specifically, because high energy expenditure is necessary to access food when ice is far away, but low energy expenditure occurs when ice is near, we anticipate that chemical disruption of that relationship may explain why some individuals appear unable to alter their foraging behavior in response to changing ice conditions. Our results may help Northerners understand how contaminants and climate change interact to impact wildlife.

 

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Plastics as a vector of contaminants in Arctic seabirds

Project leader(s):

Mark Mallory and Jennifer Provencher, Acadia University

Team:

Amie Black, Birgit Braune, Kim Fernie, Robert Letcher; Environment and Climate Change Canada

Peter Ross, Vancouver Aquarium

Funds:

$15,785

Plain language summary

Plastic debris is commonly ingested by seabirds, even in high Arctic waters, but only recently has attention turned to what the impacts may be of this ingested pollution. Since 2003 the Arctic seabird team has worked to identify which northern marine bird species are vulnerable to ingesting marine plastic pollution. Importantly, there is increasing evidence that once marine plastic pollution is in the gut of seabirds, contaminants adsorbed to plastics are released, which may have negative effects on exposed wildlife. This project aims to expand ongoing efforts to assess whether chemical contaminants are associated with ingested plastics, and as a consequence may be transferred to Arctic marine birds (northern fulmars; Fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). This second project phase will examine concentrations of known contaminants in two seabird species and whether they are associated with different levels of plastic ingestion. Concentrations of chemical contaminants will be compared between male and female birds, as well as between matched female and egg samples. This work will be done through the use of bird samples already in hand and stored at the National Wildlife Research Centre (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON), and is complementary to an ongoing NCP core monitoring program on seabirds. This work builds on past work in the region, and will further identify the potential risks marine plastics may pose to marine birds, and evaluate if eggs contain contaminants shown to be plastic-associated such as phthalates. Importantly, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) and NCP have identified the need to better understand the impacts of marine plastics on wildlife. Therefore, studies demonstrating the extent and impact of plastics in northern wildlife are critical to both domestic and international chemical assessment activities. This work is also relevant to informing studies on the health of harvested species.

 

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Microplastics in the Beaufort Sea beluga food web

Project leader(s)

Peter S. Ross & Marie Noel, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre

Team

Lisa Loseto, Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard

Funds

$36,800

Plain language summary

Microplastics (particles < 5 mm) are increasingly seen as a threat to ocean life, having been detected in industrialized coastal environments, as well as remote parts of the world. We previously reported on widespread distribution of microplastics in the NE Pacific Ocean, as well as ingestion by two keystone zooplankton species, raising concerns about potential effects on biota. We propose here to carry out a focused study of microplastics in the Beaufort Sea beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) food web in collaboration with the community of Tuktoyaktuk. This will complement a current partnership with Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard Canada (DFO) to track the Arctic-wide distribution of microplastics in seawater and zooplankton, with a pilot sampling of Beaufort Sea beluga and Arctic cod samples. Here we propose to expand on the Beaufort Sea component of this DFO partnership, with individual prey-based isolation and microplastic determination within each stomach sample from beluga (as opposed to a single composite extracted from the beluga stomach). Additional biota samples will be collected (zooplankton, Arctic cod, cisco, and smelt), with a similar effort being carried out to isolate individual prey from within the stomach contents of these biota for later analysis. A citizen science component will involve the collection of seawater and shoreline intertidal sediments by community members in the southern Beaufort Sea. Samples will be shipped back to the laboratory, where the following steps will be taken: i) extraction, ii) counting and measurement using microscope and image analysis, and iii) Fourier Transform InfraRed spectrometry (FT-IR) to determine individual microplastic particle polymer identity. These results will provide an assessment of microplastic abundance and type in the southern Beaufort Sea beluga food web, and evaluate the potential for food web transfer. Results will also provide into source, transport and fate functions, with the combined microscopy/FTIR analysis identifying the types of plastics found in the Beaufort food web. We continue to invest considerable time and effort in the development of high quality protocols for sampling, storage, extraction and analysis of microplastics, so as to maximize the reliability and reproducibility of results in this emerging microplastics field.

 

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Interacting effects of contaminants and climate change on the health of western Arctic beluga whales: applying an expanded gene expression toolbox to a time series

Project leader(s)

Marie Noel, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Lisa Loseto, Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard

Team

Peter S. Ross, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre,

Kerri Pleskach, Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard,

Bruno Rosenberg, Fisheries, Oceans & the Canadian Coast Guard

Gary Stern, University of Manitoba,

Gregg Tomy, University of Manitoba

Funds

$39,721

Plain language summary

Beluga whales (Delphinapteurus leucas) in the Arctic may be vulnerable to the combined effects of contaminants and a changing climate.

NCP supported our previous work on Hendrickson Island (2008-10) that demonstrated an effect of PCBs on the health of Beaufort Sea beluga using a new genomics toolbox (17 genes).

Our previous study suggested that genes involved in metabolism and condition were altered by inter-annual changes in feeding ecology by beluga (Noel et al., 2014), but a longer time series is needed to document the effects of climate change on their health.

Additional sampling over time will shed light on the impact of climate change on beluga health, and distinguish between contaminant and climate stresses.

We propose here to:

We will partner with the beluga monitoring program at Hendrickson Island, and work closely with the community members and beluga harvesters of Tuktoyaktuk and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

 

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Snowpack mercury mass balance over the spring melt period, Iqaluit, NU

Project leader(s)

Murray Richardson, Carleton University

Team

Chris Eckley, US Environmental Protection Agency

Jane Kirk, Amber Gleason, Greg Lawson, Environment and Climate Change Canada,

Jamal Shirley, Nunavut Research Institute/Nunavut Arctic College

Keegan Smith, Carleton University,

Funds

$41,113

Plain language summary

Arctic freshwater and marine environments are sensitive to atmospheric mercury (Hg) pollution, as indicated by high concentrations in aquatic and marine foodwebs, including fish and marine mammals consumed by many northern and Indigenous people. Snow plays a dominant role in the accumulation and downstream export of atmospheric Hg in arctic landscapes, but more research is required to understand the role of snow and snowmelt processes on the Hg cycling in these regions. In particular, there are gaps in our current understanding of how the spring melt regime can control release of Hg out of the base of the melting snowpack to freshwater and marine environments, versus losses back to the atmosphere through volatilization.

The key question posed in this study will be: “How do short-term variations in weather conditions (e.g. over periods of days to weeks) during arctic spring affect the relative fractions of meltwater Hg outputs versus Hg re-emission to the atmosphere, from the end-of-winter snowpack?” The proposed work will be conducted just outside of the community of Iqaluit, NU at the location of ongoing research activities focussed on snow hydrology and water-balance monitoring. All activities will be conducted in close collaboration with staff and students at the Nunavut Research Institute and Nunavut Arctic College Environmental Technology Program. This collaboration presents unique training and research opportunities for students, while helping to ensure the success of field science activities by incorporating land skills and local knowledge on terrain and snow conditions offered by northern field assistants. The results of this work will build on recent studies at this location, in which large between-year differences in snowmelt and stream water concentrations of Hg were observed during the spring melt periods of 2014 and 2015. Knowledge acquired through the proposed study will also improve understanding of the likely impacts of climate change on arctic Hg cycling, and its effects on the movement of Hg between terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments during the spring melt period.

 

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Sources of methylmercury, perfluoroalkyl substances, and polychlorinated biphenyls to ringed seals of Lake Melville, Northern Labrador

Project leader(s)

Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Team

Rodd Laing, Liz Pijogge, Carla Pamak, Environment Division, Nunatsiavut Government

Amila DeSilva, Derek Muir, Magali Houde, Amber Gleason, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Elsie Sunderland, Harvard University

Igor Lehnherr, University of Toronto

Tanya Brown, Memorial University of Newfoundland,

Funds

$30,000

Plain language summary

The main objectives of this project are to 1) Compare the importance of different sources of contaminants (global versus local; freshwater versus marine) to ringed seal food webs of Lake Melville, Labrador and 2) determine the impacts of key contaminants (methylmercury, PFASs, and PCBs) on the health of Lake Melville ringed seals. People living on Lake Melville are concerned about contaminant levels in country foods they harvest, especially methylmercury, and projected increases in methylmercury resulting from hydroelectric power development on the Churchill River. Furthermore, Lake Melville is a unique Arctic site to study because it is affected by both river and ocean water and it has a history of PCB contamination in fishes from local sources, such as the Churchill Falls Dam and Goose Bay air base. It is therefore important that we understand the sources of different contaminants to Lake Melville ringed seals that could be affected by changes to the environment, such hydro development and climate change, before hydro-developments begin.

71 seal samples were collected during harvests by local hunters between 2012-16 and were analyzed for mercury, methylmercury and mercury stable isotopes. A subset of these samples (n=10-40) are currently being analyzed for PFASs and PCBs. However most of the 71 seal samples collected to date were young of the year. We will therefore collect new samples (n=~15) in 2017 and analyze them for the full suite of contaminants, as well as seal health markers, which will strengthen the baseline dataset. Sampling in each community is done by local harvesters and coordinated by the Nunatsiavut Government who are provided with training, sampling kits, and instructions. Hunters record GPS coordinates and biological information on each seal and are paid for each completed kit. Appropriate seal tissues are analyzed for each of the contaminants: liver and muscle samples for mercury and methylmercury; liver samples for PFASs; and blubber for PCBs. Muscle samples are also analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to assess seal diets. Sub-samples of liver will also be analyzed for selected biological responses in relation with contaminant concentrations. Samples are archived in freezers for use in future studies.

 

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Investigating the Sources, Abundance and Types of Microplastics in the Arctic

Project leader(s)

Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto

Liisa Jantunen, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Patricia Corcoran, University of Western Ontario

Team

University of Manitoba: Gary Stern and Alexis Burt

Environment and Climate Change Canada: Hayley Hung

Université Laval: Catherine Lalande

University of Toronto: Miriam Diamond

Nunavut Arctic College: Jason Carpenter and Daniel Martin

Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN): James Macdonald

Laberge Environmental Services

Ta’än Kwach’än Council: Derek Cooke

Yukon INAC: Ellen Sedlack

Funds

$10,000

Plain language summary

Microplastics pollution is found across the globe, but with limited information from polar regions. Although there is evidence of microplastics in the Arctic and Antarctic, little is understood about the sources, fate and extent of contamination. We propose to answer these questions in the Canadian Arctic. We will quantify the amount and identify the types of microplastics in air, water, sediments and zooplankton sampled from the CCGS Amundsen in and around the Hudson Bay and/or the central and eastern Canadian Archipelago. In addition, we will answer questions about sources and fate using two types of information. First, we will collaborate with Indigenous communities to quantify and categorize plastic along their shorelines. Second, we compare microplastic contamination with land-use patterns and water and air circulation. Previous studies, and our preliminary findings, demonstrate that microplastics are present in Arctic samples, but a detailed study will help us better understand where microplastics are commonly found, what their sources are and how they are preserved or degraded. Microplastics in the Arctic raise concerns about impacts to wildlife and local communities that rely on food from the sea. Results from this study will inform future research that will answer questions related to such impacts.

 

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Fine-scale temporal changes in mercury accumulation in Labrador ringed seals (Pusa hispida) using laser ablation technology on whiskers and claws: influence of a changing ice regime

Project leader(s)

Tanya Brown, Memorial University

Marie Noel, Vancouver Aquarium

Team

Aaron T. Fisk, University of Windsor

Peter S. Ross, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre

Ken J. Reimer, Royal Military College of Canada

Jody Spence, School of Earth and Ocean Science’s ICP-MS and Laser Ablation Facility

Funds

$25,143

Plain language summary

  • The purpose of this study is to better understand factors influencing intra- and inter- annual variation in mercury (Hg) levels in ringed seals in northern Labrador. To do this, Hg concentrations will be determined along individual ringed seal whiskers and claws using cutting-edge technology.
  • Ringed seal whiskers grow throughout the year and are shed annually providing within-year changes in Hg accumulation. Ringed seal claws, on the other hand, grow throughout their life, providing both within-year and across-year trends of Hg accumulation.
  • Hg concentrations from the proximal claw and whisker will be compared to liver and muscle, two tissues that are commonly used in biomonitoring and have known toxicological endpoints in the literature.
  • Archived ringed seal claws, whiskers, liver and muscle tissues collected during our marine food web study and ringed seal health study (two Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) funded research programs between 2008 and 2011) will be used.
  • A change in food web structure due to changing sea ice conditions could have a profound effect on Hg exposure for arctic species such as ringed seal. Results of this research will contribute to a better understanding of factors affecting geographic variation in Hg accumulation in seals, and to our understanding of the effects of climate change on ringed seal food web structure and Hg levels.
 

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Temporal trends of emerging pollutant and mercury deposition through ice and sediment core sampling

Project leader(s)

Cora Young, Memorial University

Alison Criscitiello, University of Calgary

Amila De Silva, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Igor Lehnherr, University of Toronto

Team

Amber Gleason, Greg Lawson, Christine Spencer, Environment and Climate Change Canada,

Trevor VandenBoer, Memorial University,

Graduate student, Memorial University,

Graduate student, University of Toronto,

Funds

$45,000

Plain language summary

Contaminants produced and emitted in low-latitude regions can travel through the atmosphere and be deposited in high-latitude regions, such as the Arctic. Remote Arctic ice caps preserve and record concentrations of these chemicals and allow us to understand trends in atmospheric transport and deposition of contaminants. This project will collect ice cores from the summit of a remote ice cap on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic, as well as sediment cores from Lake Hazen located downstream of the ice cap. Ice and sediment cores will be analyzed for priority contaminants, including mercury and emerging pollutants. By examining ice cores, we will be able to determine how these chemicals are transported to the High Arctic and identify any changes in deposition over time. Data from sediment cores will be used to understand how these contaminants make their way into downstream water bodies where they have the potential to bioaccumulate into aquatic organisms such as Arctic char. Using these data, we can better understand sources and pathways that lead to Arctic pollution and how pollutant accumulation in the Arctic responds to changes in production and emission of these contaminants. Measuring contaminant loads in Arctic reservoirs can contribute to modelling the re-mobilization and release of contaminants into other areas in the Arctic due to climate change. This is important to the understanding and management of contaminant exposure for people and wildlife in the North. We have detected emerging organic contaminants in the High Arctic previously, but our sampling has been limited to the Devon Ice Cap. In this study, we will examine a suite of emerging pollutants and include mercury from ice cores in a more northern location, allowing us to better understand spatial trends and sources of long-range transport to the Arctic. Due to patterns in atmospheric circulation, this more northern location is influenced by emissions originating from sources that are distinct from those recorded at the Devon Ice Cap. This information will also complement current air sampling programs in the Arctic.

 

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Investigation into relatively high walleye mercury concentrations in Tathlina Lake

Project leader(s)

Deborah MacLatchey, Wilfred Laurier University

Heidi Swanson, University of Waterloo

Team

Dr. Andrea Lister, Wilfrid Laurier University,

Melaine Simba, Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation,

George Low, Dehcho First Nations,

Funds

$28,405

Plain language summary

Food fishes from Tathlina and Kakisa lakes in the Northwest Territories are of significant commercial and subsistence importance to the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN). Recent research from 2013-2015 (Low, Branfireun, Swanson) has shown that mercury levels in walleye differ significantly between the two lakes; walleye from Tathlina Lake have substantially higher mercury levels (that often exceed Health Canada guideline) than walleye from Kakisa Lake. In contrast, northern pike have similar mercury levels in the two lakes. These differences between lakes and species cannot be fully explained by existing data on fish ecology, age, growth rate, or water and sediment chemistry. In response to community questions regarding high mercury levels in Tathlina Lake walleye, we propose to initiate a 2-year study on Tathlina and Kakisa lakes. We will build on our existing dataset by increasing fish sample sizes in both lakes, augmenting our sampling and understanding of mercury accumulation in lower trophic levels in the food web (e.g., algae and plankton), sampling water and sediment in multiple seasons, and determining the amount of mercury in sediment that is available for uptake into the food web. Sampling will be done in collaboration with KTFN fishers and the environmental research coordinator, and continue to foster the two-way knowledge exchange that has been built during the last 4 years of collaborative research on these lakes.

  • expand our health tool box with 10 new genes that will provide information on nutritional stress (for a total of 27 genes).
  • collect additional samples from Beaufort beluga in summer 2017;
  • analyze samples from 2008, 2009 and 2010 for the 10 new genes;
  • analyze 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 for the newly-expanded toolbox of 27 genes.
  • Analyze all samples for metabolomics.
  • Evaluate factors affecting beluga health profiles during eight years.
  • The purpose of this study is to better understand factors influencing intra- and inter- annual variation in mercury (Hg) levels in ringed seals in northern Labrador. To do this, Hg concentrations will be determined along individual ringed seal whiskers and claws using cutting-edge technology.
  • Ringed seal whiskers grow throughout the year and are shed annually providing within-year changes in Hg accumulation. Ringed seal claws, on the other hand, grow throughout their life, providing both within-year and across-year trends of Hg accumulation.
  • Hg concentrations from the proximal claw and whisker will be compared to liver and muscle, two tissues that are commonly used in biomonitoring and have known toxicological endpoints in the literature.
  • Archived ringed seal claws, whiskers, liver and muscle tissues collected during our marine food web study and ringed seal health study (two Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) funded research programs between 2008 and 2011) will be used.
  • A change in food web structure due to changing sea ice conditions could have a profound effect on Hg exposure for arctic species such as ringed seal. Results of this research will contribute to a better understanding of factors affecting geographic variation in Hg accumulation in seals, and to our understanding of the effects of climate change on ringed seal food web structure and Hg levels.
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