title: Subcellular distribution of trace elements and liver histology of landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) sampled along a mercury contamination gradient.
abstract: We sampled landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from four lakes (Small, 9-Mile, North, Amituk) in the Canadian High Arctic that span a gradient of mercury contamination. Metals (Hg, Se, Tl, and Fe) were measured in char tissues to determine their relationships with health indices (relative condition factor and hepatosomatic index), stable nitrogen isotope ratios, and liver histology. A subcellular partitioning procedure was employed to determine how metals were distributed between potentially sensitive and detoxified compartments of Arctic char livers from a low- and high-mercury lake (Small Lake and Amituk Lake, respectively). Differences in health indices and metal concentrations among char populations were likely related to differences in feeding ecology. Concentrations of Hg, Se, and Tl were highest in the livers of Amituk char, whereas concentrations of Fe were highest in Small and 9-Mile char. At the subcellular level we found that although Amituk char had higher concentrations of Tl in whole liver than Small Lake char, they maintained a greater proportion of this metal in detoxified fractions, suggesting an attempt at detoxification. Mercury was found mainly in potentially sensitive fractions of both Small and Amituk Lake char, indicating that Arctic char are not effectively detoxifying this metal. Histological changes in char livers, mainly in the form of melano-macrophage aggregates and hepatic fibrosis, could be linked to the concentrations and subcellular distributions of essential or non-essential metals.
authors.affiliation: Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement (INRS-ETE), 490 de la Couronne, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Barst
authors.affiliation: Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement (INRS-ETE), 490 de la Couronne, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Maikel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosabal
authors.affiliation: Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement (INRS-ETE), 490 de la Couronne, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canada.
authors.forename: Peter G C
authors.initials: PGC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Derek G C
authors.initials: DGC
authors.lastname: Muir
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Xioawa
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Studies (ÖAW-IGF), 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Köck
authors.affiliation: Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement (INRS-ETE), 490 de la Couronne, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canada; University of Michigan Biological Station and School of Natural Resources and Environment, 440 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. Electronic address: drevnick@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Drevnick
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D002170:Canada; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000473:pathology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D060106:Lakes; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014337:Trout; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Arctic char; Mercury; Metals; Subcellular partitioning