Vandysh O. Assessment of copper-nickel industry impact on a subarctic lake ecosystem. The Science of the Total Environment. 2003, T. 306, № 1-3, c. 78-83

82 A. Lukin et al. / The Science of the Total Environment 306 (2003) 73-83 High loading o f heavy metals on Lake Kuets- jarvi ecosystem may be the reason for a large number o f pathological modifications in fish organs and tissues. The kidney pathology and a number o f specific pathologies such as change o f the muscle tissue and skin color may be connected with high Ni content in the water. 5. Conclusion Lake Kuetsjarvi ecosystem has been subject to intensive pollution generated by the Pechenganick- el Company activities for more than 50 years. The dominant pollutants are sulfate and heavy metals. Comparison o f surface and background sediment layers indicates that current heavy metals levels are dozens o f times higher than the background values in the lake sediments. The productivity of phyto- and zooplankton communities is subject to fluctuations in Lake Kuetsjarvi, which may be due to their unstable condition. Low zoobenthos diver­ sity, high abundance of chironomids and Tubifici- dae worms, as well as elevated total phosphorus and nitrogen indicates the lake is eutrophic. The greatest impact upon the community structure was recorded in the most contaminated lake area, near the Kolosjoki stream mouth. The species compo­ sitions o f the fish community in the lake remains constant, but at the individual level pathologies of organs and tissues typical for areas with heavy metal pollution are observed. These pathologies may affect the function of important organs (gill, liver, kidney, gonads). This study has demonstrated the direct depend­ ence o f accumulation o f Ni and Cu in fish with their content in sediments and further effects on the food web o f zoobenthos-fish has been estab­ lished. The close connection between the content of Ni in water, sediments and fish kidney suggests Ni could be causal factor for the observed nephro- calcitosis in kidney. References Amundsen P-A, Staldvik F. European cisco in Pasvik river system. University of Troms 0 Report. 1993, 13 pp. (in Norwegian). Amundsen P-A, Staldvik F,. Lukin AA, Kashulin NA., Resh- etnikov Yu, Popova O. Ecology and heavy metal contami­ nation’s in the fish communities of Pasvik river system 1993. University of Troms 0 Report. 1993, 31 pp. Baklanov AA, Makarova TD. Sulfur dioxide pollution in the border area between Russia and Norway. Ecology and geography problems of the Kola North of Kola Science Centre, Apatity, EditionUSSR Academy of Sciences, 1992. p. 114-129. (in Russian). Dauvalter V.Concentrations of heavy metals in superficial lake sediments of the Pechenga district, Murmansk region Russia. Vatten 1992;48:141-145. Dauvalter V.Heavy metals in lake sediments of the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Sci Total Environ 1994;158:51-61. Dauvalter V.Heavy metal concentrations in lake sediments as an index of freshwater ecosystem pollution. In: Crawford RMM, editor. Disturbance and recovery in Arctic lands; an ecological perspective. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997. p. 333-351. Harmful chemical substances. Inorganic compounds from ele­ ment groups V-VIII. Chimia., Leningrad, 1989 (in Russian). Hakanson L. An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control—a sedimentological approach. Water Res 1980;14:975-1001. Jonsson B. Comparison of scales and otoliths for age deter­ mination in Brown trout, Salmo trutta L. Norw J Zool 1976;24:295-301. Kryuchkov V,Makarova T. Aerotechnogenic impact on the Kola North ecosystem. Edition of Kola Science Centre, USSR Academy of Sciences, Apatity, 1989, 96 pp. (in Russian). L’Abee-Lund JH. Age determination of Norwegian freshwater fish species. Fauna 1985;38:44-49. (in Norwegian). Langeland A, Berger HM, Halleraker JH, Huru H, Kashulin N, Lierhagen S, Lukin A, Muladal H, N 0 st N, Shcartau AKL, Yakovlev V. Pollution impact on freshwater commu­ nities in the border region between Russia and Norway. II. Baseline study 1990-1992. NINA, Scientific report 44, 1993, 53 pp. Larskiy EG. Methods of determination and metabolism of metal-protein complexes. Results for science and technology. VINITI. Biochemistry 1990, 42 p. (in Russian). Lukin AA, Kashulin, NA. Fish community status in the border areas between Norway and USSR. Edition of Kola Science Centre, USSR Academy of Sciences, Apatity, 1991, 31 pp. (in Russian). Moiseenko T, Mjedle M, Brandrud TE, Brettum P, Dauvalter V, Kagan L, Kashulin N, Kudryavtseva L, Lukin A, Sandi- mirov S, Traaen TS, Vandysh O, Yakovlev V. Pasvik River watercourse: pollution impacts and ecological responses. Investigation in 1993. INEP-NIVA-Report, Oslo, 1994, 87 pp. Moiseenko TI, Kudryavtseva LP, Rodyushkin IV, Dauvalter VA, Lukin AA, Kashulin NA. Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminium in the freshwater ecosystems of the Kola Subarctic region (Russia). Sci Total Environ 1995;160/161:715 -727.