Assessing the health of fish populations in the Clinch River system: Application of multi-response bioindicators
Conference
·
OSTI ID:212053
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
As a component of the Clinch River Remedial Investigation Project, multi-response bioindicators have been used as integrative and holistic measures of fish population and community health. The integrated bioindicator approach involves measuring a suite of selected indicators at several levels of biological organization from the biomolecular to the community levels. Multi-response indicators of stress at several levels of biological organization provides insights into causal mechanisms between contaminant exposure and population-level effects and provides a basis for which the effectiveness of future remedial actions on fish population health can be evaluated. Bioindicator responses were grouped into six functional categories representing indicators of (1) contaminant exposure (detoxification enzymes), (2) organ dysfunction, (3) histopathology, (4) overall fish health (condition indices), (5) feeding and nutritional status, and (6) fish community integrity. Detoxification enzyme induction, histopathological effects, reproductive dysfunction, bioenergetic impairment, and reduced fish community diversity was observed at several sample sites in the Clinch River System. When all the bioindicators were evaluated together in a canonical variate analysis procedure, the integrated site responses segregated clearly into contaminant affected sites and reference areas. Most of these effects appear to be related to the downstream gradient in contaminant loading from the Oak Ridge Reservation and to the pattern of specific PCB congeners occurring at these sites.
- OSTI ID:
- 212053
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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