Evaluation des possibilités d'utilisation du necture tacheté (Necturus maculosus) comme bioindicateur de la contamination du fleuve Saint-Laurent

Résumé du livre

In the province of Quebec, the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is found in the Saint Lawrence River and its major tributaries. These populations seem well established; however, the data available do not allow the evaluation of population trends. The knowledge of the biology and ecology of the species is also limited. An evaluation of its potential to become a bioindicator of aquatic pollution was done from those data and the measurements of contaminants in individuals taken from the Saint Lawrence River fluvial section. The wide distribution of the species, its sedentarism, its longevity, and its capacity to accumulate organochlorine compounds and heavy metals, are the major attributes of the mudpuppy to become a good bioindicator. However, the poor knowledge of its ecology and of the possibility of its capture in Quebec, plus the appearance of a high variability in the contamination between individuals taken from a same site, are unsolved problems.