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

Juha Karjalainen,Hanna E Arola,Jaana Wallin,Ari Väisänen,Anna K Karjalainen

doi:10.1007/s00244-020-00752-9

Juha Karjalainen, Hanna E Arola + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00752-9

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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.

Highlights

One of the world’s largest, but low-grade, sulfide nickel deposit located in Talvivaara, northeastern Finland has been exploited by a bioheapleaching technology since 2008 (Riekkola-Vanhanen 2013)
In the spring of 2013 and 2014, we investigated whether mature male perch (Perca fluviatilis), living in the lakes (MI lakes) receiving the effluents from the bioheapleaching process from nickel mining, showed signs of physiological stress related to the mining effluent contamination
We evaluated whether their condition and reproductive potential was affected by the mining effluent loading

Summary

Introduction

One of the world’s largest, but low-grade, sulfide nickel deposit located in Talvivaara, northeastern Finland has been exploited by a bioheapleaching technology since 2008 (Riekkola-Vanhanen 2013). Metal concentrations in fish usually follow the ranking: Fe > Zn > lead (Pb) > Cu > Cd > mercury (Hg), but environmental factors affect the uptake and accumulation of metals in fish (Jezierska and Witeska 2006). Low pH and low alkalinity correlate with high concentrations of metals in liver and dissolved organic material reduces the bioavailability by complexing metals (Eastwood and Couture 2002). Gonadosomatic indexes of both male and female fish can be lower in metal-polluted environments (Pyle et al 2005). The impact of decreased sperm motility on fertilization success may become evident only when the sperm-to-egg ratio is lowered to a suboptimal level, whereas with sufficient spermto-egg ratio, the impact on fertilization success can be masked by the total number of motile sperm (Rurangwa et al 1998)

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