Sandimirov S. Heavy metal contents in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) along a pollution gradient in a subarctic watercourse. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2011, V. 182, №1-4, p. 301-316.

Environ Monit Assess (2011) 182:301-316 313 to high environmental and tissue concentrations of heavy metals (Couture and Pyle 2008). Conclusions The present study demonstrates a large influence of the Nikel smelters on heavy metal concentra­ tions in environment and whitefish in the lower parts of the Pasvik watercourse, in particular in the close vicinity of the smelters. Steeply declining gradients with increasing distance to the smelters were observed for Ni, Cu, Cd and Zn, targeting the smelters as a point source of severe heavy metal pollution. Whereas the main bulk of pollu­ tants appears to be deposited in the vicinity of the smelters, transportation to more distant localities by atmospheric dispersal or water flow transfer seems to be of limited importance. The concen­ trations of Ni and Cu recorded in environment and whitefish in Kuetsjarvi were similar to the ranges reported from metal-contaminated lakes, and higher than comparable observations from unpolluted or moderately polluted systems. For the other studied lake localities the levels were in general moderate to low and similar to those reported from systems with low anthropogenic impacts. The elevated heavy metal levels in Kuets­ jarvi may represent a problem for fish, and poten­ tial symptoms of pollution stress were indicated in relation to reduced somatic growth and condition, and depleted sexual maturation age and size of both whitefish morphs. Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are due to Dalsb0 L, Lien C, Evjen J, Sandring S, Holand D and other members of the Freshwater Ecology Group at the Norwegian Col­ lege of Fishery Science, University of Troms0, and to field work group (Makogonuk SN, Snegov VV) and analytical group of INEP (Kudravtseva LP, Voevodina NP, Plato- nenkova GS) for assistance during the field and laboratory work. Financial support was given by the Interreg IIIA Kolarctic project “Development and implementation of an environmental monitoring and assessment system in the joint Finnish, Norwegian and Russian border area”, the Norwegian Research Council (NFR 183984/S30) and the Governor of Finnmark County, and the project: “Natural and anthropogenic factor impact on biodiversity dynamic of the subarctic water ecosystems and its stability under cli­ matic changes” of the Program fundamental investigations of the Presidium RAS “Biodiversity”. References Akimova, N. V., Reshetnikov, Y. S., Popova, O. A., Kashulin, N. A., Lukin, A. A., & Amundsen, P.-A. (2000). Morphological state of reproductive system of fishes in the Kola Peninsula water bodies. Journal o f Ichthyology, 40, 206-209. Allen-Gil, S. M., Ford, J., Lasorsa, B. K., Monetti, M., Vlasova, T., & Landers, D. H. (2003). Heavy metal contamination in the Taimyr Peninsula, Siberian Arc­ tic. Science o f the Total Environment, 301, 119-138. Allen-Gil, S. M., Gubala, C. P., Landers, D. H., Lasorsa, B. K., Crecelius, E. A., & Curtis, L. R. (1997). Heavy metal accumulation in sediment and freshwater fish in U.S. Arctic lakes. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 16, 733-741. Allen-Gil, S. M., & Martynov, V. G. (1995). Heavy metal burdens in nine species of freshwater and anadromous fish from the Pechora River, northern Russia. Science o f the Total Environment, 160, 653-659. Amundsen, P.-A. (1988). Habitat and food segregation of two sympatric populations of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L. s.l.) in Stuorajavri, northern Norway. Nordic Journal o f Freshwater Research, 64, 67-73. Amundsen, P.-A., B0hn, T., & Vaga, G. H. (2004a). Gill raker morphology and feeding ecology of two sym- patric whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus ) morphs. An- nales Zoologici Fennici, 41, 291-300. Amundsen, P.-A., Knudsen, R., Klemetsen, A., & Kristoffersen, R. (2004b). Resource competition and interactive segregation between sympatric whitefish morphs. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 41, 301-307. Amundsen, P.-A., Knudsen, R., & Klemetsen, A. (2007). Intraspecific competition and density dependence of food consumption and growth in Arctic charr. Journal o f Animal Ecology, 76, 149-158. Amundsen, P.-A., Staldvik, F. J., Lukin, A. A., Kashulin, N. A., Popova, O. A., & Reshetnikov, Y. S. (1997). Heavy metal contamination in freshwater fish from the border region between Norway and Russia. Sci­ ence o f the Total Environment, 201, 211-224. Amundsen, P.-A., Staldvik, F. J., Reshetnikov, Y. S., Kashulin, N. A., Lukin, A. A., B0hn, T., et al. (1999). Invasion of vendace (Coregonus albula ) in a subarctic watercourse. Biological Conservation, 88, 405-413. Bagenal, T. B. (1978). Methods for assessment o ffish pro­ duction in fresh waters . Oxford: Blackwell Science. Baldwin, D. H., Sandahl, J. F., Labenia, J. S., & Scholz, N. L. (2003). Sublethal effects of copper on coho salmon: Impacts on nonoverlapping receptor path­ ways in the peripheral olfactory nervous system. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 22, 2266­ 2274. Springer