Abstract
We measured Hg concentrations in northern pike (Esox lucius) from 17 small lakes in Evo forest area, Lammi, southern Finland. The mean Hg concentration in muscle tissue of a 1 kg pike ranged from 0.15 to 1.36 μg g−1 (ww) in the lakes. There was a trend towards higher concentrations in acidic and humic lakes than in circumneutral and clear-water lakes. The Hg content of pike from successive lakes of a lake chain was similar, whereas there were clear differences in the Hg concentrations among seepage lakes and the uppermost lakes of other lake chains. The latter was probably due to special characteristics of the lakes: in one lake pike was the only fish species, two of the lakes were regulated by beaver, and one lake was a groundwater or spring lake. Our observations indicate that Hg concentrations in pike can vary considerably from lake to lake in a small geographical area and that the variation among lakes in the accumulation of Hg in fish largely depends on lake characteristics and on the diet of pike.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Armstrong, F.A.J. and Uthe, J.F.: 1971, Atomic Absorption Newsletter 10, 101.
Arvola, L., Metsälä, T.-R., Similä, A. and Rask, M.: 1990, Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 24, (In press).
Göthberg, A.: 1983, Ambio 12, 259.
Häsänen, E. and Sjöblom, V.: 1968, Suomen Kalatalous 36, 1.
Jackson, T.A., Kipphut, G., Hesslein, R.H. and Schindler, D.W.: 1980, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37, 387.
Lodenius, M.: 1991, Water Air Soil Pollut. (This volume).
Lodenius, M., Seppänen, A. and Herranen, M.: 1983, Water Air Soil Pollut. 19, 237.
Mackereth, F.J.H., Heron, J. and Talling, F.J.: 1978, FBA Scientific Publication 36, 120 pp.
Mannio, J., Verta, M., Kortelainen, P. and Rekolainen, S.: 1986, Publications of the Water Research Institute, National Board of Waters, Finland 65, 32.
Metsälä, T.-R.: 1989, Suomen Kalastuslehti 96, 21.
Metsälä, T.-R. and Rask, M.: 1989, Aqua Fennica 19, 41.
Nuorteva, P., Lodenius, M. and Nuorteva, S.-L.: 1979, Aquilo Scr. Zool. 19, 97.
Rask, M., Arvola, L., and Salonen, K.: 1985, Aqua Fennica 15, 41.
Richman, L.A., Wren, C.D. and Stokes, P.M.: 1988, Water Air Soil Pollut. 37, 465.
Salonen, K.: 1979, Limnol. Oceanogr. 24, 177.
Salonen, K. and Hammar, T.: 1986, Oecologia (Berlin) 68, 246.
Tolonen, K. and Jaakkola, T.: 1983, Ann. Bot. Fennici 20, 57.
Verta, M.: 1990a, Publications of the Water and Environment Research Institute, National Board of Waters and Environment, Finland 6, 5.
Verta, M.: 1990b, Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 47, (In press).
Verta, M., Rekolainen, S., Mannio, J. and Surma-Aho, K.: 1986, Publications of the Water Research Institute, National Board of Waters, Finland 65, 3.
Verta, M., Tolonen, K. and Simola, H.: 1989, Sci. Total Environ. 87/88, 1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rask, M., Metsälä, T..R. Mercury concentrations in northern pike, Esox lucius L., in small lakes of Evo area, southern Finland. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 56, 369–378 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00342284
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00342284