Bioaccumulation of lipophilic contaminants can be influenced by many factors, including life history. Life history traits, such as age at maturity and reproductive schedules evolve to optimize the allocation of available energy to reproduction and growth, which may have implications for the distribution and effects of lipophilic contaminants. The goal of this study was to understand how life history traits can influence the distribution of lipophilic contaminants in three distinct lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) populations from Lake Superior: siscowet and lean morphotypes from Marquette and Michipicoten Island leans. The siscowet morphotype is characterized by higher body fat content, slower growth and lower fecundity than the lean. The Michipicoten Island lean is a slow growing lean population with high reproductive investment at older ages. The concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs in the muscle, ovary and liver were measured and compared to population relevant metrics such as fecundity, muscle fat, length and age. As predicted, based on higher body fat, siscowets had higher concentration of contaminants in the muscle tissue when adjusted for exposure. The Michipicoten leans had relatively higher concentrations of contaminants in the ovary tissue compared to siscowets of similar ages, which is consistent with their higher fecundities and gonad weights. The patterns of contaminant bioaccumulation between the three populations suggest that it is necessary to consider life history traits when monitoring for lipophilic contaminants because such patterns allow for the inference of the effects of contaminants on the general health of the fish population.
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