Relationship Between Body-Lead Concentration of <i>Mysis relicta</i> and Sediment-Lead Concentration in Kootenay Lake, B.C.

Abstract

The potentially important mechanism of biological mobilization of lead from lake sediments was investigated. Lead concentrations of the crustacean Mysis relicta from Kootenay Lake, determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, were compared to published lead sediment concentrations from the same sites. There is a strong correlation between sediment-lead concentration and Mysis-lead concentration. This correlation may indicate that Mysis can accumulate lead from the sediment and return it to the open water.Key words: Mysis relicta, lead, heavy metal contamination, contaminated sediments.