Effects of Lead and Hydrocarbons from Snowmobile Exhaust on Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Abstract

Abstract Lead and hydrocarbons from snowmobile exhaust were found in the water at high levels during the week following ice-out in a Maine pond. Fingerling brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) held in fish cages in the pond showed lead and hydrocarbon uptake. These contaminants accumulated during the previous winter when snowmobile operation on the pond was equivalent to one snowmobile burning 250 liters of fuel per season on a .405 hectare pond with average depth of 1 m. Lead content of the water rose from 4.1 ppb before snowmobiling to 135 ppb at ice-out; exposed trout contained 9 to 16 times more lead than controls. Hydrocarbon levels undetectable prior to snowmobiling reached 10 ppm in the water and 1 ppm in exposed fish. Trout held in aquaria for 3 weeks in melted snow containing three different concentrations of snowmobile exhaust also showed lead and hydrocarbon uptake. Their digestive tract tissue contained the most lead. (2 ppm) and gills the least (0.2 ppm). Stamina, as measured by the ability to...