Co-Investigators:
T. Scheuhammer, Environment Canada, CWS.
Email: tony.scheuhammer@ec.gc.ca
Tel. 819-997-6128;

The general objective of our study is to determine the extent to which environmental metal contamination is causing adverse effects in wildlife populations in Canada. Specifically, we intend to quantify the nature and magnitude of adverse effects of food chain Hg biomagnification in top trophic level predators, such as common loons; to compare Hg exposure in loons breeding in environments with differing natural background levels of Hg, differing environmental chemistry, and different levels of anthropogenic activity, especially metal mining and smelting. We also propose to study reproductive anthropogenic activity, especially metal mining and smelting. We also propose to study reproductive success and Hg accumulation in common loons in habitats affected by mining/smelting wastes, acid deposition, and areas experiencing naturally high geological background concentrations of Hg, and compare the results to uncontaminated control sites. The choice of lakes studied is to be based in part on the results of this years= preliminary experiment.

In this preliminary funding year, we are studying the potential impact of metals from atmospheric emission by comparing copper, zinc, cadmium and nickel concentrations in tissues of various species of waterfowl collected in the vicinity of Cu/Zn smelters with those collected from less contaminated control sites. Over the years, the Canadian Wildlife Service has collected a large number of individual water birds from across Canada, including Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec, and these are archived at the National Wildlife Research Centre Specimen Bank in Hull, Quebec. We have searched through their database and chosen 48 samples (28 mallard ducks, 7 black ducks, 6 ringed neck ducks, 7 green wing teal) for analysis. We will present results of this preliminary survey and discuss the sampling program for the main study.