Title
Mercury bioaccumulation in lacustrine fish populations along a climatic gradient in northern Ontario, Canada
Author(s)
Sumner, A.W., Johnston, T.A., Lescord, G.L., Branfireun, B.A. and Gunn, J.M.
Abstract
The authors investigated how mercury contamination in fish differs across a latitudinal gradient in northern Ontario, Canada. Mercury concentrations in walleye and white sucker were measured across latitudes, which also differed in climatic conditions. Neither temperature nor precipitation was a strong predictor of mercury contamination in either species across this region. Drainage basin characteristics and water chemistry were the strongest predictors. These results indicate that fish contamination is not strongly associated with current climatic conditions , but may be influenced by climate change in future through indirect effects on water chemistry and food web structure.
Keywords
freshwater; limnology; climate; contaminants; landscape; latitude

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