Seasonal and regional variations in metal contamination and condition indicators in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) along two polymetallic gradients. III. Energetic and physiological indicators
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Date
2008
Authors
Couture, Patrice
Rajotte, James W.
Pyle, Gregory
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
The influences of metal contamination, fish size, season, and region on tissue
metabolic capacities and protein concentrations were examined in yellow perch from
two metal gradients (Sudbury, Ontario, and Rouyn-Noranda, Qu´ebec, Canada) in
two seasons (spring and summer). In general, increased tissue Cu and Cd contamination
was associated with lower aerobic capacities, suggesting direct metal inhibition
of aerobic enzymes. However, our data also revealed that tissue Ni contamination
positively affected aerobic capacities, possibly due to oxidative damage to mitochondrial
membranes leading to compensatory increases in the activity of mitochondrial
enzymes. Tissue aerobic capacities decreased, but anaerobic capacities increased,
with size. Tissue protein concentrations and metabolic capacities were also influenced
by season. A novel finding of this study is that size-corrected tissue enzyme
activities can differ markedly in yellow perch sampled in the same season in similar
lakes, but separated by a few hundred kilometers. Overall, the results from this large
dataset support that tissue metabolic capacities are under seasonal and regional
influences, but are also affected by metal contamination. Our study indicates that
tissue metabolic enzyme activities should be considered as a tool for ecological risk
assessment studies aiming at detecting metal stress in wild fish. However, fish should
be sampled over a short period, and reference sites should be close to contaminated
sites
Description
Sherpa Romeo green journal
Keywords
Yellow perch , Metals , Metabolic capacities , Metabolic scaling , Seasonality , Regional variations
Citation
Couture, P., J. Rajotte, and G. Pyle. 2008. Seasonal and regional variations in metal contamination and condition indicators in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) along two polymetallic gradients. III. Physiological indicators. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 14: 146-165