Bone characteristics and metal concentrations in white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) from one neutral and three acidified lakes in Maine

The bone characteristics of white suckers, Catostomus commersoni, from four lakes in Maine were studied in relation to lake water quality and metal concentrations in fish. Green Lake had a neutral pH, high buffering capacity, and low aluminum concentrations, whereas the other three lakes had low pH, low buffering capacity, and elevated aluminum concentrations. The concentrations of aluminum in white suckers did not differ among the four lakes, but concentrations of cadmium, lead, and mercury were greater in fish from the three low-pH lakes. The vertebrae were weaker and more flexible in fish from the low-pH lakes than in those from neutral-pH Green Lake. The inferior mechanical properties of bone in fish from the low-pH lakes were probably a result of the significantly lower proline concentrations in collagen. Low pH of lake water or elevated whole-body concentrations of cadmium, lead, and mercury, either individually or combined, could have caused the inferior mechanical properties of bone of white suckers from the low-pH lakes.