Damselfish Embryos as a Bioindicator for Military Contamination on Coral Reefs at Johnston Atoll, Pacific Ocean

Abstract

This study investigated the association between sediment contamination, PCB accumulation in adult nesting males and the occurrence of embryonic abnormalities in the damselfish, Abudefduf sordidus, from two sites with high PCB contamination and three “reference” sites (contaminants very low or not measurable) within Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific Ocean. Developmental abnormalities were assessed in damselfish embryos collected in the field during four natural spawning seasons (1996, 1998, 1999, and 2001). Laboratory incubations of abnormal embryos demonstrated that the observed abnormalities were lethal. PCBs were measured in fish collected in three years. Mean whole-body concentrations of total PCBs ranged from 364.6 to 138,032.5 ng/g lipid. A significant residue–effect relationship was found between total PCB concentration and embryo abnormalities. The occurrence of embryo abnormalities was positively related to fish PCB concentration (other contaminants were also evaluated including metals and dioxins). This study demonstrates the utility of using damselfish embryos as a bioindicator tool for monitoring coral reefs. It also provides baseline-monitoring criteria and evaluates sediment quality benchmarks used for ecological risk assessments on coral reefs.

Composição e estrutura da comunidade de peixes recifais em relação a quatro variáveis ambientais no Parque Estadual Marinho da Laje de Santos, Estado de São Paulo

“…The ecology and behavior of M. birostris are scarcely known, most based on occasional observations (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953;Homma et al, 1999;Yano et al, 1999). Notarbartolo-di-Sciara and Hillyer (1989) and Lobel (2003) reported patterns of seasonal occurrences at Venezuela (Southern Caribbean) and Johnston Atoll (Central Pacific). These authors infer that aggregations occur in temporal and spatial predictable foraging grounds where blooms of plankton arise.…”