Investigation of reproductive effects of Fort Smith municipal effluent on small bodied fish

Regions: South Slave Region

Tags: water quality, fish health, sewage

Principal Investigator: MacLatchy, Deborah (2)
Licence Number: 15336
Organization: Wilfrid Laurier University
Licensed Year(s): 2014 2013
Issued: Sep 06, 2013
Project Team: Dr. Deborah MacLatchy, Dr. Andrea Lister, Dr. Gerald Tetreault

Objective(s): To collect and sample small bodied fish species (sculpin, trout perch) upstream, downstream, and at the sewage effluent outflow pipe at Fort Smith to examine the reproductive health of the fish.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are to: 1. Collect and sample small bodied fish species (sculpin, trout perch) upstream, downstream, and at the sewage effluent outflow pipe at Fort Smith following established Environmental Effects Monitoring techniques to examine the reproductive health of the fish; 2. Expose small bodied fish to sewage effluent or Slave River water (as the control) for 72hrs and sample the fish using the same methodology as in Objective 1. This work can only be done if sufficient numbers of fish can be collected; and 3. Analyze the Fort Smith sewage effluent for water quality characteristics. For Objective 1: Fish will be collected by seining (1/8th mesh 4X15 feet net) and electroshocking suitable habitat areas along the Slave River shoreline. These techniques do not leave gear unattended in the river. The fish will be sampled for indicators of fish health and reproduction such as bod... Show morey weight, organ weights for the calculations of condition factor and gonadosomatic indices and reproductive hormone levels. For Objective 2: Fish will be collected as per the methods in Objective 1, and if sufficient numbers of fish are obtained, then they will be divided into three groups and exposed to Slave River water (as a Control) and to sewage effluent at 25 and 75% v/v. The fish will be held in aerated, 40L containers for 72 hours and then sampled using the same methodology as in Objective 1. For Objective 3: One litre samples of sewage effluent will be collected and assessed by the use of a YSI Pro-Plus for measurements of water quality (conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite) and a subset of the samples will be transported to the lab in Waterloo for the measurements of a standardized suite of pharmaceutical compounds. (These compounds, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or heart/blood pressure or antidepressant medications are often found in sewage effluents from large municipalities.) The researchers will provide a summary of the results via emails or phone calls. If the preliminary work is successful and there are future research opportunities for continued work in the Fort Smith area, then the researchers can communicate the results of the work through meetings. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from September 4, 2013 to September 10, 2013. Show less