Length-mass relationship, histopathology, and parasitism in winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) living near a PCB-contaminated naval facility in Newfoundland

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
R A Khan
Keyword(s):  
Reference Site ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Pleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Fish Health ◽  
Scuba Divers ◽  
Placentia Bay ◽  
Hematological Values

A study was conducted to ascertain the health of winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) sampled near a naval facility contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), using length-mass relationship, hematological values, histopathology, and parasitism as bioindicators of stress. Samples were collected by SCUBA divers about 2 km (Broad Cove) and 5 km (Fox Harbour) down-current from the dockyard and a reference site (Fox Island) 5 km offshore in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Length, mass, and condition factor were significantly greater in both sexes sampled at the reference site than at the two contaminated sites, whereas macroscopic anomalies, including fin necrosis, infestation with ectoparasitic metacercariae of the digenean Cryptocotyle lingua, and histopathological lesions in the liver, kidney, spleen, and gills, were more frequent at the latter locations. A greater variety of prey were consumed by fish taken at Fox Island than at Fox Harbour, while food was absent in several samples from Broad Cove. Three endoparasites, Ceratomyxa acadiensis, Echinorhynchus gadi, and Steringophorus furciger, were less prevalent and abundant in flounder sampled at Broad Cove than at the other two sites. These results suggest a connection between PCB contamination and impaired fish health. In addition, anomalies were more prevalent in samples collected nearest to the contaminated site than in those collected farther away.

Responsiveness of the interrenal tissue of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from contaminated sites to an ACTH challenge test in vivo

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Girard ◽  
Julie C Brodeur ◽  
Alice Hontela
Keyword(s):  
Organic Contaminants ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Reference Site ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Acth Challenge ◽  
Capture Stress

The effects of chronic toxic stress on the hypothalamo-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis were investigated in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) captured at a reference site (Lake Memphremagog) and two sites contaminated with heavy metals and organic contaminants (Ile Perrot and Iles de la Paix, Lake St. Louis) in spring, summer, and fall. Cortisol secretion of the fish was stimulated in situ by an acute capture stress or by an i.p. injection of 4 IU/100 g body mass of porcine corticotropin (ACTH1-39). The response to both these challenges was lower in perch from the highly contaminated site than in perch from the reference site in the spring but not in summer. In fall, fish from the highly contaminated site had, as in spring, a lower response to ACTH than fish from the reference site. The reduced ability of perch to respond to capture stress or to ACTH indicates that the interrenal tissue in fish from contaminated sites is functionally impaired. Cortisol-impaired fish also had abnormal carbohydrate metabolism. The reduced ability of wild fish from contaminated sites to respond to a standardized ACTH challenge may be used as an early indicator of contamination-induced chronic stress.

Bioindicators of Stress in Winter Flounder, Pleuronectes americanus, Captured Adjacent to a Pulp and Paper Mill in St. George's Bay, Newfoundland

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 2203-2209 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Barker ◽  
R. A. Khan ◽  
R. Hooper
Keyword(s):  
Reference Site ◽  
Paper Mill ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Digenetic Trematode ◽  
Pleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Pulp And Paper Mill ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Blood Haemoglobin ◽  
Anisakid Nematodes

Winter flounder, Pleuronectes americanus, inhabiting a marine inlet (Port Harmon) adjacent to a pulp and paper mill, and from a reference site (St. George's) 12 km away, were examined for signs of stress. Fish from Port Harmon showed significantly lower condition (k) factors, hepatosomatic indices, blood haemoglobin, and lymphocyte levels, than those from the reference site. Delayed spawning or spermiation were evident in female and male flounder, respectively, from Port Harmon compared with those from St. George's. Prevalence and intensity of larval anisakid nematodes, metacercariae of the digenetic trematode, Cryptocotyle lingua, and cysts of the microsporan, Glugea stephani, were significantly higher at Port Harmon than at St. George's, whereas prevalence and intensity of an intestinal acanthocephalan were significantly lower at Port Harmon. The percentage of flounder with external lesions (fin necrosis, ulcers) was significantly higher at Port Harmon than at St. George's. Anaemia, low lymphocyte levels, low somatic indices, high incidence of external lesions, and abnormal parasitic infestations are all suggestive of immunosuppression. Because basic water chemistry at the two sites was similar, the evidence of chronic stress observed in winter flounder from Port Harmon can most likely be attributed to pollutants from the effluent that have accumulated in the sediment.

Induced Cytochrome P4501A in Winter Flounder, Pleuronectes americanus, from Offshore and Coastal Sites

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 933-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Monosson ◽  
John J. Stegeman
Keyword(s):  
East Coast ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Boston Harbor ◽  
Pleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Georges Bank ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Cytochrome P4501a ◽  
Passamaquoddy Bay ◽  
Specific Activities

Cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A), Aroclor 1254 (A1254), and 3,3′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB) were measured in liver of winter flounder, Pleuronectes americanus, from Boston Harbor, Mass., Hempsted Harbor, N.Y., Niantic, Conn., and an offshore site, Georges Bank. We also measured CYP1A content and activity in flounder from Passamaquoddy Bay, N.B. Concentrations of A1254 and TCB were the least in fish from Georges Bank (0.46 and 0.002 μg∙g dry weight−1, respectively); concentrations in fish from Boston, Niantic, and Hempsted ranged from 7.6 to 11.3 μg∙g−1 and from 0.013 to 0.024 μg∙g−1. Immunodetected microsomal CYP1A contents (expressed as scup P450E equivalents) were 0.17 and 0.19 nmol∙mg−1 in fish from Georges Bank and Passamaquoddy and 0.25–0.41 nmol∙mg−1 in fish from Boston, Niantic, and Hempsted. Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase specific activities likewise were greater in fish from Boston, Niantic, and Hempsted (1.7–2.4 nmol∙min−1∙mg−1) than in fish from Georges Bank or Passamaquoddy (0.83 and 0.61 nmol∙min−1∙mg−1). CYP1A content and activity were correlated with hepatic concentrations of A1254 and TCB. These data, together with data reported in previous studies, indicate that strong induction of CYP1A protein occurs in winter flounder populations along most of the industrialized east coast and that induction of CYP1A is common, but less strong, at sites distant from the urban centers of the Northeast.

Chemical contaminants and hepatic lesions in winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) from the northeast coast of the United States

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (13) ◽  
pp. 2759-2771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndal L. Johnson ◽  
Carla M. Stehr ◽  
O. Paul Olson ◽  
Mark S. Myers ◽  
Susan M. Pierce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Winter Flounder ◽  
Pleuronectes Americanus ◽  
Chemical Contaminants ◽  
Hepatic Lesions ◽  
Northeast Coast

The potential of anaerobic bacteria to degrade chlorinated compounds

2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.H.A. van Eekert ◽  
G. Schraa
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Bacteria ◽  
Granular Sludge ◽  
Chlorinated Ethenes ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Anaerobic Conditions ◽  
Chlorinated Aromatics ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Acetogenic Bacteria ◽  
Uasb Reactors

Chlorinated ethenes and chlorinated aromatics are often found as pollutants in sediments, groundwater, and wastewater. These compounds were long considered to be recalcitrant under anaerobic conditions. In the past years however, dechlorination of these compounds has been found to occur under anaerobic conditions at contaminated sites and in wastewater treatment systems. This dechlorination is mainly attributed to halo-respiring bacteria, which are able to couple this dechlorination to energy conservation via electron transport coupled phosphorylation. The dechlorinating activities of the halo-respiring bacteria seem to be confined to the dechlorination of chloroethenes and chlorinated aromatic compounds. In addition, methanogenic and acetogenic bacteria are also able to reduce the chlorinated ethenes via a-specific cometabolic pathways. Although these latter reactions may not be important in the remediation of contaminated sites, they may be of substantial influence in the start-up of remediation processes and in the application of granular sludge from UASB reactors. Specific halo-respiring bacteria may be used to increase the dechlorination activities via bioaugmentation in the case that the appropriate microorganisms are not present at the contaminated site or in the sludge.

Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstie A. Fryirs ◽  
Erla G. Hafsteinsdóttir ◽  
Scott C. Stark ◽  
Damian B. Gore
Keyword(s):  
Water Contamination ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Hydrocarbon Contamination ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Background Concentration ◽  
Site Assessment ◽  
Quality Guidelines ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination ◽  
Concentration Levels

AbstractThe management of sediment and water contamination from legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. Although several reports have noted that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, a systematic attempt to assess the spatial scale of the problem has not been made, making development of clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. A contaminated site assessment for the old Wilkes Station and surrounds is presented in this paper. The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment and water quality guidelines and background concentration levels (BCL) were used to assess the extent of contamination across Clark Peninsula. Of 67 sediment sites sampled, 72% were contaminated with at least one metal or metalloid, with values exceeding the ANZECC ISQG-High or 2 x BCL. Moreover, 19% were contaminated with four or more metals/metalloids. Of the 93 water samples collected, all but one was contaminated with at least one metal/metalloid concentration exceeding the guidelines, and 96% were contaminated with two or more metals/metalloids. For hydrocarbons in sediment and water, most samples were below quantitation limits. There is a complex pattern of contamination across Clark Peninsula that needs to be considered in future waste treatment, containment or removal operations, and for protection of heritage items.

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