Environmental contaminants and the reproductive success of lake trout in the Great Lakes: An epidemiological approach

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15287399109531536· OSTI ID:5163676

Mac, M J; Edsall, C C ^[1]

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1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fisheries Research Center-Great Lakes, Ann Arbor, MI (USA)

Epidemiological criteria were used to examine the influence of environmental contamination on reproductive success of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Most of the information was obtained from lake trout eggs collected in southeastern Lake Michigan and reared in the laboratory. Two separate end points that measure reproductive success--egg hatchability and fry survival--were used in the evaluation. Strong evidence for maternally derived polychlorinated biphenyls causing reduced egg hatchability were observed for the time order, strength of association, and coherence criteria. Equally strong evidence for organic environmental contaminants, also of maternal origin, causing a swim-up fry mortality syndrome were presented for the strength of association, specificity, replication, and coherence criteria. The epidemiological approach for demonstrating cause-and-effect relations was useful because of the difficulty in demonstrating definite proof of causality between specific environmental contaminants and reproductive dysfunction in feral fish.

• OSTI ID: 5163676
• Journal Information: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health; (United States) Vol. 33:4; ISSN JTEHD; ISSN 0098-4108
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
EGGS
EPIDEMIOLOGY
FISHES
FRESH WATER
GREAT LAKES
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LAKE MICHIGAN
LAKES
MORTALITY
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
REPRODUCTION
SENSITIVITY
SURFACE WATERS
TOXICITY
TROUT
VERTEBRATES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION