Polluted harbor sediment and the annual reproductive cycle of the female flounder, Platichthys fiesus (L.)

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:203617

Janssen, P A.H.; Lambert, J G.D.; Goos, H J.T. ^[1]; Wezel, A.P. van; Opperhuizen, A ^[2]

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1. Department of Experimental Zoology, Utrecht (Netherlands). Research Group Comparative Endocrinology
2. National Inst. for Coastal and Marine Management, The Hague (Netherlands). Dept. of Ecotoxicology

Compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),and pesticides are metabolized by enzyme systems, which are also involved in steroid metabolism. Disturbances of reproduction may therefore occur through the interference of these compounds with the endocrine system. Several aspects of reproduction were studied in the flounder, Platichthys fiesus (L.), an euryhaline flatfish which inhabits coastal waters and is therefore a suitable biomonitor for the effects of chemical pollutants. Fish were kept during three years in mesocosm systems of which the first provided a control, while the second one contained polluted sediment, derived from the Rotterdam harbor. In November, all ovaries from both mesocosms contained vitellogenic oocytes. In May, all the control fish were previtellogenic, while the ovaries of fish from the polluted mesocosm contained, besides previtellogenic oocytes, a large number of vitellogenic oocytes, indicating that an estrogenic induction had occurred. The in vitro tissue incubations with androstenedione as precursor revealed that the ovarian capacity to synthesize testosterone (T), estrone (E{sub 2}) and 17{beta}-estradiol (E{sub 2}) didn`t differ between both mesocosms. In May, however, the levels of T and E{sub 2} as well as the level of the yolk-precursor vitellogenin were significantly higher in the polluted mesocosm. The conclusion from this study was that polluted harbor sediment contains compounds that effect normal reproductive development, i.e. the induction of premature vitellogenesis.

• OSTI ID: 203617
• Report Number(s): CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
FISHES
HARBORS
NETHERLANDS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
REPRODUCTION
SEDIMENTS
TOXICITY
WATER POLLUTION