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Fish ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) populations with different exposure histories differ in tolerance of creosote‐contaminated sediments
Author(s) -
Ownby David R.,
Newman Michael C.,
Mulvey Margaret,
Vogelbein Wolfgang K.,
Unger Michael A.,
Arzayus L. Felipe
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620210917
Subject(s) - fundulus , estuary , creosote , sediment , population , contamination , ecotoxicology , biology , environmental science , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , environmental chemistry , chemistry , paleontology , demography , sociology
Prior studies suggest that field‐collected fish ( Fundulus heteroclitus ) from a creosote‐contaminated Superfund site (Atlantic Wood Industries site, Elizabeth River, VA, USA) have enhanced tolerance to local, contaminated sediments. This study was designed to test whether other populations in the Elizabeth River at less contaminated sites also show similar tolerance and whether this tolerance is heritable. To test this, F. heteroclitus populations were sampled from four sites within the Elizabeth River with varying sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations (3.9–264 ng PAH/g dry wt·10 3 ) and one reference site in a nearby, uncontaminated estuary (York River, VA, USA; 0.27 ng PAH/g dry wt·10 3 ). Embryo assays were performed to quantify population differences in teratogenic effects during contaminated sediment exposure. Atlantic Wood sediment was mixed with reference sediment to achieve a range of sediment concentrations. Minimal differences were observed in teratogenic effects among fish taken from sites within the Elizabeth River; however, embryos of fish collected from a nearby, uncontaminated York River site and exposed to contaminated sediments had a significantly higher proportion of embryos with cardiac abnormalities than those from the Elizabeth River sites. Embryos from wild‐caught and laboratory‐reared Elizabeth River F. heteroclitus were simultaneously exposed to contaminated sediments, and no significant tolerance differences were found between embryos from fish taken directly from the field and those reared for a generation in the lab. Differences between fish populations from the two estuaries were larger than differences within the Elizabeth River, and these differences in tolerance were heritable.