Survey of the Selenium Content in the Aquatic Biota of Western Lake Erie

Abstract

Selenium concentrations in water, sediment, zooplankton and fish from the western basin of Lake Erie were determined by spectrophotometric procedures. The mean selenium concentration (dry weight) ± one standard error for the various fish species ranged from 1.80 ± 0.12 ppm for common shiners to 8.12 ± 1.02 ppm for sheepshead. The concentration of selenium in yellow perch was directly related to the size of the fish. This relationship was not established for other fish species nor were any differences between sexes found. The selenium content of filtered and unfiltered water samples was 0.003 ± 0.001 ppm and 0.023 ± 0.004 ppm, respectively. The higher values in the unfiltered samples were attributed to suspended solids and plankton. The average concentration of selenium in sediment and zooplankton samples (dry weight) was 0.36 ± 0.07 ppm and 2.54 ± 0.15 ppm, respectively. A comparison of the concentration of selenium in the various trophic levels indicated that selenium progressively increased from water to sediment and from water to zooplankton to fish. The values obtained in this study for fish and water are somewhat higher than those previously reported for other areas of the Great Lakes and this may be due to the fact that western Lake Erie is heavily industrialized, surrounded by several fossil fuel power plants, and is the recipient of multiple waste discharges.