Bioindicators of contaminant exposure, liver pathology, and reproductive development in prespawning female winter flounder ('Pleuronectes americanus') from urban and nonurban estuaries on the northeast Atlantic coast. Technical memo

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:7014436

Johnson, L L; Stein, J E; Collier, T K; Casillas, E; McCain, B

Relationships between liver pathology and ovarian development, and exposure to xenobiotic compounds were evaluated in prespawning female winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus, formerly Pseudopleuronectes americanus) sampled from 11 sites on the Northeast coast of the United States during the 1988 and 1989 spawning seasons. Sediments from three sites exhibited a wide range in concentrations of xenobiotic compounds (e.g. concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) ranged from 20 to 50,000 ng/g dry weight and concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) ranged from 2 to 1,400 ng/g dry weight), with the sites in Boston Harbor and Raritan Bay the most heavily contaminated. The following parameters associated with ovarian development were measured: ovarian developmental stage, ovarian atresia, gonadosomatic index, plasma estradiol, fecundity, and egg weight. Contaminant exposure was assessed by measuring concentrations of fluorescent aromatic compounds (FACs) in the bile; hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity; concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in liver, ovary, and brain; and levels of xenobiotic-DNA adducts in liver tissue. In general, indicators of contaminant exposure were elevated and prevalences of suspected toxicopathic lesions were highest in fish from sites within Boston Harbor and Raritan Bay.

• Research Organization: National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA (United States). Northwest Fisheries Science Center
• OSTI ID: 7014436
• Report Number(s): PB-93-105633/XAB; NOAA-TM-NMFS-NWFSC--1
• 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
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BODY
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
COASTAL WATERS
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ESTUARIES
FISHES
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
GLANDS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
LIVER
MONITORING
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PATHOLOGY
POLLUTION
REPRODUCTION
RURAL AREAS
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SENSITIVITY
SURFACE WATERS
TOXICITY
URBAN AREAS
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WATER POLLUTION