Cp. Madenjian et al., NET TROPHIC TRANSFER EFFICIENCY OF PCBS TO LAKE-MICHIGAN COHO SALMON FROM THEIR PREY, Environmental science & technology, 32(20), 1998, pp. 3063-3067
Most of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) body burden accumulated by
coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) from the Laurentian Great Lakes is
from their food. We used diet information, PCB determinations in both
coho salmon and their prey,and bioenergetics modeling to estimate the
efficiency with which Lake Michigan coho salmon retain PCBs from their
food. Our estimate was the most reliable estimate to date because (a)
the coho salmon and prey fish sampled during our study were sampled i
n spring, summer, and fall from various locations throughout the lake,
(b) detailed measurements were made on the PCB concentrations of both
coho salmon and prey fish over wide ranges in fish size, and (c) coho
salmon diet was analyzed in detail from April through November over a
wide range of salmon size from numerous locations throughout the lake
. We estimated that coho salmon from; Lake Michigan retain 50% of the
PCBs that are contained within their food.