Acute and chronic toxicity of nitrate to early life stages of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

The acute and chronic toxicity of the nitrate ion (NO3-) to the embryos, alevins, and swim-up fry of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) were tested in laboratory aquaria. The acute (96-h) median lethal concentration (LC50) for swim-up fry was 1,121 mg NO3-N/L for lake trout and 1,903 mg NO3-N/L for lake whitefish. The chronic (approximately 130-150-d) LC50s for embryos to swim-up fry were 190 and 64 mg NO3-N/L, respectively. Sublethal effects on developmental timing and fry body size were observed at concentrations of 6.25 and 25 mg NO3-N/L, respectively, in the chronic tests. These results confirm that the Canadian nitrate water-quality guideline of 2.9 mg NO3-N/L, which was derived from chronic tests on a temperate-zone amphibian, is applicable to the early life stages of two species of Arctic fish. However, it does not support use of the guideline for acute exposures during early life stages of salmonid fish or for acute or chronic exposures to adult fish, which are relatively insensitive to nitrate.