Multivariate Analysis of Correlations Between Environmental Parameters and Cadmium Concentrations in Hyalella azteca (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Central Ontario Lakes

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Abstract
Cadmium concentrations in Hyallela azteca collected from 69 central Ontario lakes ranged from 0.13 to 56.6 .mu.g/g dry mass. Principal components analysis followed by multiple linear regression found three principal components, interpreted as water hardness, total cadmium, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, to be significantly (p .ltoreq. 0.002) correlated with cadmium concentrations in H. azteca. Cadmium concentrations in H. azteca were independent of cadmium concentrations in littoral sediments. It is suggested that cadmium ions compete with calcium ions for uptake sites on the gill surfaces of H. azteca. High concentrations of dissolved organic carbon may complex free cadmium ions and reduce their concentration in solution, leading to lower cadmium concentrations in H. azteca.