title: Accumulated state of the Yukon River watershed: part I critical review of literature.
abstract: A consistent methodology for assessing the accumulating effects of natural and manmade change on riverine systems has not been developed for a whole host of reasons including a lack of data, disagreement over core elements to consider, and complexity. Accumulated state assessments of aquatic systems is an integral component of watershed cumulative effects assessment. The Yukon River is the largest free flowing river in the world and is the fourth largest drainage basin in North America, draining 855,000 km(2) in Canada and the United States. Because of its remote location, it is considered pristine but little is known about its cumulative state. This review identified 7 "hot spot" areas in the Yukon River Basin including Lake Laberge, Yukon River at Dawson City, the Charley and Yukon River confluence, Porcupine and Yukon River confluence, Yukon River at the Dalton Highway Bridge, Tolovana River near Tolovana, and Tanana River at Fairbanks. Climate change, natural stressors, and anthropogenic stresses have resulted in accumulating changes including measurable levels of contaminants in surface waters and fish tissues, fish and human disease, changes in surface hydrology, as well as shifts in biogeochemical loads. This article is the first integrated accumulated state assessment for the Yukon River basin based on a literature review. It is the first part of a 2-part series. The second article (Dubé et al. 2013a, this issue) is a quantitative accumulated state assessment of the Yukon River Basin where hot spots and hot moments are assessed outside of a "normal" range of variability.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Alberta, Canada. Dub.mon@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Monique G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Dubé
authors.forename: Breda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Muldoon
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Karonhiakta'tie Bryan
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Maracle
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D057231:Climate Change; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D014872:Water Movements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D060753:Water Quality; D015874:Yukon Territory / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical