ACCUMULATION OF PCBS BY LAKE TROUT (SALVELINUS-NAMAYCUSH) - AN INDIVIDUAL-BASED MODEL APPROACH

Authored by Charles P Madenjian, Stephen R Carpenter, GW ECK, MA MILLER

Date Published: 1993

Sponsors: United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program United States Department of Commerce (DOC)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

To explain the variation in growth and in concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) among individual fish, an individual-based model (IBM) was applied to the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) population in Lake Michigan. The IBM accurately represented the variation in growth exhibited by the different age classes of lake trout. Uncertainty analysis of the IBM revealed that mean PCB concentration for the lake trout population was most sensitive to PCB concentration in their prey. The variability in PCB concentration among lake trout individuals was not adequately explained by the IBM, unless variation in prey fish PCBs was included in the model. To accomplish this, the simulated lake trout population was divided into subsets subjected to different levels of PCB concentration in the prey fish. Thus, model results indicated that variability in prey fish PCB concentration was an important component of the variation in PCB concentration observed among individual lake trout comprising the Lake Michigan population.

Tags

population growth Fish Michigan Polychlorinated-biphenyls The-year walleye Bioaccumulation Contaminants Computer-models Ontario salmonids