Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from headwater lakes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Canada) were analyzed for whole body concentrations of Pb, Cd, Hg, Cu and Zn. Fish from western New Brunswick generally had lowest concentrations of metals. Mercury concentrations were highest in fish from lakes close to urban centers on the leeward side. Only trout were collected from lakes in Cape Breton Island, and these were characterized by high Cd and Zn concentrations. The only consistently strong correlation between metal concentration and any lake chemistry parameter was a negative correlation between Pb concentration and lake pH. Copper and Zn were consistently positively correlated for all three species, perhaps due to their common existence in mineral deposits.

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© CAWQ 1989
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