Regions: North Slave Region
Tags: contaminants, biology, bioaccumulation, vegetation, caribou, wolf, food chain, pesticides
| Principal Investigator: | Katz, Sharon (9) |
| Licence Number: | 14583 |
| Organization: | ARI |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2009
|
| Issued: | Aug 05, 2009 |
| Project Team: | Derek Muir (Scientific leader and chemical analyses , Environment Canada, Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington ON), Mary Gamberg (Planning, sample collection & handling, Gamberg Consulting, Whitehorse YT), Bruno Croft (Field logistics, Environment and Natural Resources, Yellowknife, NT), Suzanne Carrière (Sample collection, outreach, Environment and Natural Resources, Yellowknife, NT), Dean Cluff (Sample collection, Environment and Natural Resources, Yellowknife, NT), Brett Elkin (Sample collection, Environment and Natural Resources, Yellowknife, NT), Holger Hintelmann (Physico-chemical analysis, Dept of Chemistry, Trent University, Peterborough ON), Xiaowa Wang (Chemical analyses, Environment Canada, Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington ON), Adam Morris (Sample collection, chemical analyses, University of Guelph, Guelph ON), Claudia Mueller (Chemical analyses, Swiss Federal Institute for Material Testing and Research, Duebendorf, Switzerland.) |
Objective(s): (a) To determine whether brominated flame retardants (BFRs), current use pesticides (CUPs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and mercury bioaccumulate using the vegetation-caribou-wolf food chain and the Bathurst caribou herd as a model; (b) To explore possible sources of lead contamination in the Bathurst herd caribou; (c) To elucidate the pathway of lead uptake by the Bathurst herd caribou.
Project Description: The objectives of this study are: (a) To determine whether brominated flame retardants (BFRs), current use pesticides (CUPs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and mercury bioaccumulate using the vegetation-caribou-wolf food chain and the Bathurst caribou herd as a model; (b) To explore possible sources of lead contamination in the Bathurst herd caribou; (c) To elucidate the pathway of lead uptake by the Bathurst herd caribou. The study design will involve collection of vegetation samples from the range of the Bathurst caribou herd. Ground-dwelling lichens, moss, willow and grasses give a fair model of caribou diet. Together they cover over 80% of the animal’s diet in any season (Boertje 1984, Thompson and McCourt 1981). A separate Wildlife research permit was requested for collection of liver, kidney, muscle, bone and incisors from 20 Bathurst caribou and 10 wolves from the Bathurst region as part of ongoing GNWT monitoring programs. Samples will be frozen and shipped to Whitehorse for processing and subsequently to NLET for analysis. As part of this study, the analysis of stable isotopes of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) will be carried out to allow for determination of the relative abundance of different vegetation types in the caribou diet. This, in turn will allow estimation of the contribution of BFRs and CUPs from each of these sources, and along with concentrations in caribou and wolves, will determine whether biomagnification is occurring in this food chain. Dr. Suzanne Carrière leads the following outreach activities with students at the Tundra science Camp: students will be given a presentation on the type of food used by caribou, and the type of contaminant and levels already detected. Each student group will be given the opportunity to collect plant samples, given instructions on how to identify plants, and prepare herbaria sheets. Information on nutrients will be demonstrated by a taste game using actual plants collected on the tundra. Samples collected by the students will be marked and used in the study. Sharon Katz will ask to present at the CIMP meeting in Yellowknife. A final report will be prepared and submitted to CIMP. Copies of scientific articles that may result from this project will be sent to CIMP. The final report will be made accessible through the ARI website. Prints of nay scientific articles that may result from this project may be requested from ARI. Plain language summaries will be prepared and circulated to stakeholder groups through the regional contaminants committee of the NWT. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from August 5 to December 31, 2009, close to Daring Lake, Gordon Lake, Snap Lake, Contwoyto Lake and Tibbitt Lake.
