Organochlorine compounds in trout from lakes over a 1600 meter elevation gradient in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

The effect of altitude on the concentration and composition of organochlorine compounds (OC) in troutwas investigated along an elevation gradient of 1600 m in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The eight lakes sampled were within or adjacent to national parks in sparsely settled parts of Alberta and British Columbia, thus contaminants were assumed to have derived from long-range atmospheric transport. Concentrations of several OCs in trout increased significantly with lake elevation.

Concentrations and fluxes of salmon-derived polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in lake sediments.

Fourteen sediment cores were collected from 10 lakes spanning a large gradient of sockeye salmon returns (0-40 000 spawners km(-2)) in Alaska and British Columbia in 1995-98 and 2002/03. The cores were analyzed for 210Pb to determine sedimentation rates and focusing factors. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) concentrations in the surface sediments (0-2 cm) were highly correlated with the number of sockeye salmon returns to each nursery lake.