MFFP – UQTR – Lampsilis - About
Part of the 2009 Lampsilis data is the result of a bio-amplification study or, in other words, the increase of contaminant concentration from the bottom to the top of the food chain in fish in the St. Lawrence.
Seven fish species have been sampled namely Northern pike, walleye, yellow perch, white sucker, pumpkinseed, Brown bullhead and lake sturgeon. These species are abundant in the freshwater portion of the St. Lawrence River.
- The first objective was to study the relationship between contaminants (ex: mercury) and the spatial variation of their assimilation and bio-amplification by organisms. This was achieved using values of a stable isotope of δ13C in invertebrates and fish species in the St. Lawrence. The hypothesis was that assimilation of contaminants changed with water masses mixing and that food chain relationship changed along the River. Confirmation of this hypothesis could help refine the mass balance calculations of contaminants in the St. Lawrence River.
- The second objective was to study links between fish morphology, growth, physiology and food dependence within the various water masses in the St. Lawrence using δ13C as a fish habitat indicator.
Partners and team
Funding for this research was obtained in part from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Ship Time Program. Fund manager was Gilbert Cabana. Pierre Magnan and Hélène Glémet were coresearchers. All three are researchers at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
Additional funding came from the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs. Researchers from this institution, Marc Mingelbier and Philippe Brodeur, were also involved in the project.
