Book Description
Describes a study to construct and calibrate a steady-state food chain model to simulate the uptake and bioaccumulation of selected organic chemicals, with different physical and chemical properties, in the mountain whitefish, longnose sucker, and northern pike food web of the Athabasca River. The model is based on the WASP 14, Thomann-Connolly and Gobas food chain models. The modelling effort involved review and interpretation of sediment transport dynamics, contaminant distribution and concentration in sediment, water, and biota, and the refinement of the existing models. Results are presented from model simulations and compared to observed concentrations of such compounds as furans, resin acids, and chlorinated phenolics. The appendix includes a discussion of food chain modelling theory and its application to the present study.