title: Assessment of copper-nickel industry impact on a subarctic lake ecosystem.
abstract: The Kuetsjärvi lake ecosystem has been subject to intensive pollution generated by the Pechenganickel Company activities for more than 50 years. This article considers the effects of emissions from the copper-nickel smelter, that uses out-of-date technology, on a subarctic lake ecosystem. Six years of investigations revealed changes occurring at all ecosystem levels. It was found that the content of heavy metals (Cu, Ni, etc.) in lake sediments was dozens of times higher than the background values. Phyto- and zooplankton communities were in an unstable condition, while fish had pathologies of functionally important organs (gill, liver and kidney). The concentration of nickel in zoobenthos and fish was correlated its accumulation in sediments.
authors.affiliation: Northern Water Problems Institute (NWPI), Karelian Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 50, Uritsky St, 185003, Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia. lukin@nwpi.karelia.ru
authors.forename: Annatoly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lukin
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dauvalter
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kashulin
authors.forename: Valery
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Yakovlev
authors.forename: Andrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharov
authors.forename: Oksana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vandysh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003300:Copper / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D005880:Gills / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D008669:Metallurgy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D009532:Nickel / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D010839:Phytoplankton; D011157:Population Dynamics; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015048:Zooplankton
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel