Contaminant Effects on Ovarian Development and Spawning Success in Rock Sole from Puget Sound, Washington
- 1 May 1998
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 127 (3), 375-392
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1998)127<0375:ceooda>2.0.co;2
Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine if exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was associated with altered ovarian development or reduced spawning success in rock sole Pleuronectes bilineatus. This objective was addressed in two separate phases. In the first study, concentrations of AHs and PCBs were measured in individual fish from four sites in Puget Sound, Washington (Eagle Harbor, Sinclair Inlet, Yukon Harbor, and Pilot Point) with different levels of AH and PCB contamination in sediments and their ovarian development was monitored during the 1989–1991 spawning seasons. In these fish, egg weight was negatively correlated with levels of PCBs in the liver. However, contaminant exposure levels were not significantly associated with the probability of entering vitellogenesis or with gonadosomatic index, plasma estradiol concentrations, or fecundity. In the second study, gravid female soles were taken from Eagle Harbor, Sinclair Inlet, Yukon Harbor, and University Point (known spawning areas for rock soles), and hormonally induced to spawn in the laboratory. Eggs were fertilized with pooled sperm from reference males. Consistent with the first study's findings, fish from Sinclair Inlet, where sediments contain elevated concentrations of PCBs, produced eggs with significantly reduced weight. Furthermore, the overall spawning success of fish from the site with the highest level of AH contamination (Eagle Harbor) was significantly impaired. These findings suggest that environmental exposure to AHs and PCBs may reduce reproductive success in female rock soles, but this species appears to be more resistant to such effects than other Puget Sound flatfish species, such as the English sole Pleuronectes vetulus.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Accumulation and dose-response of hepatic DNA adducts in English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) exposed to a gradient of contaminated sedimentsAquatic Toxicology, 1996
- Toxic equivalency factors for dioxin-like PCBsChemosphere, 1994
- Field studies of reproductive success and bioindicators of maternal contaminant exposure in English sole (Parophrys vetulus)Science of The Total Environment, 1992
- Inducibility of spawning and reproductive success of female english sole (parophrys vetulus) from urban and nonurban areas of puget sound, WashingtonMarine Environmental Research, 1991
- Hepatic activities of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and biliary levels of xenobiotics in english sole (Parophrys vetulus) exposed to environmental contaminantsArchives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1991
- Winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus reproductive success. II. Effects of spawning time and female size on size, composition and viability of eggs and larvaeMarine Ecology Progress Series, 1991
- Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Two Forms of Trout Growth Hormone cDNA: Expression and Secretion of tGH-II byEscherichia coliDNA, 1989
- The effect of inherited contamination on egg and larval winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanusMarine Environmental Research, 1988
- An experimental investigation of the non-reproductive, post-mature state in winter flounderJournal of Fish Biology, 1987
- Homing Behavior and Population Stratification in Central Puget Sound English Sole (Parophrys vetulus)Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 1976