Condition and Sperm Characteristics of Perch Perca fluviatilis inhabiting Boreal Lakes Receiving Metal Mining Effluents

Abstract
One of the world’s largest, but low-grade, sulfide nickel deposits in northeastern Finland has been exploited by a bioheapleaching technology since 2008. Bioheapleaching is a relatively new, cost-effective technology, but humid climate, e.g., in boreal temperate environments, causes challenges to the management of the water balance in the ore heaps with wide catchment area, and the mining effluents have caused substantial metal and salting contamination of the receiving waterbodies. In our study, the impacts of metal-extracting bioheapleaching mine effluents on muscle and liver element concentrations, body condition, liver and testes mass, and sperm count and motility of male perch Perca fluviatilis were analysed. Liver, testes, and carcass mass of perch in relation to their length were lower in the mining-impacted lakes than in the reference lake, which may be due to the metal contamination, food availability, and energy demand under multistressor conditions. The sperm counts of the males in the mining-impacted lakes were lower, but the endurance of their sperm motility was longer than the endurance of sperm of the reference males. These findings suggested that the condition and sperm characteristics of perch were altered in lakes receiving metal mining effluents. Measured variables seem to be useful indicators for metal mining impacts on freshwater fish but only if high natural variation in these characteristics can be controlled by multiyear monitoring scheme.
Main Authors
Format
Articles Research article
Published
2020
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202007275378Use this for linking
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0090-4341
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00752-9
Language
English
Published in
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
Citation
  • Karjalainen, J., Arola, H. E., Wallin, J., Väisänen, A., & Karjalainen, A. K. (2020). Condition and Sperm Characteristics of Perch Perca fluviatilis inhabiting Boreal Lakes Receiving Metal Mining Effluents. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 79(2), 270-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00752-9
License
CC BY 4.0Open Access
Funder(s)
Research Council of Finland
Research Council of Finland
Funding program(s)
Academy Project, AoF
Academy Research Fellow, AoF
Akatemiahanke, SA
Akatemiatutkija, SA
Research Council of Finland
Additional information about funding
This study was supported by the Academy of Finland (Grants 281800, 285296), Finnish Doctoral Programme on Environmental Science and Technology (EnSTe), Emil Aaltonen Foundation and Olvi Foundation.
Copyright© The Authors 2020

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