Acid stress and extinction of a spring-spawning fish population

Investigation of Heeney Lake, 21.7 ha, revealed a small population of white sucker, Catostomus commersoni. Only four age-classes were represented in this normally abundant and long-lived species. By 1984 only one new age-class had been recruited into the population. As these fish spawned in the outlet stream in early spring, the potential toxicity of these waters was assessed at two snow-melt events. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, of hatchery origin were held in the outlet stream as pH declined from 6.5 to 4.7 during a snow melt, late February. Trout showed a loss of 19% in plasma Na and 24% in Cl concurrent with gill Al concentration increasing from 10 to 250 μg'g^?1 dry wt. At the mid-April snow melt, pH fell to 4.1, and rainbow trout held in the outlet showed a decline in plasma sodium of 42% and gill Al increased from 10 to 415 μg'g^?1 dry wt. Control rainbow trout held in Harp L. at pH 6.3 showed no significant change in plasma and muscle ion concentrations, or in gill Al concentration. White sucker from nearby waters were held in Heeney Lake outlet, late April, and muscle Na and Cl declined significantly as gill Al concentration increased from 11 to 50 μg'g^?1 dry wt during 48 hr exposure. White sucker hekl in Heeney L. outlet, mid-May, showed no significant change in plasma ions. No white sucker have been captured in Heeney L. since 1984 and the population is presumed to be extinct. Acid deposition has declined in recent years but lake and stream pH have not recovered and fish populations may still decline or disappear.