Likely Population-Level Effects of Contaminants on a Resident Estuarine Fish Species: Comparing Gillichthys mirabilis Population Static Measurements and Vital Rates in San Francisco and Tomales Bays

McGourty, Catherine R.; Hobbs, James A.; Bennett, William A.; Green, Peter G.; Hwang, Hyun-Min; Ikemiyagi, Naoaki; Lewis, Levi S.; Cope, Jason M.

doi:10.1007/s12237-009-9177-5

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…There are large numbers of harbor seals in Tomales Bay (TB), adjacent to PR, and the location is less impacted by urban influences compared with SFB (McGourty et al . ; Fig. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Survival probabilities and movements of harbor seals in central California

Manugian

Greig

Lee

et al. 2016

Marine Mammal Science

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Harbor seal numbers and population trajectories differ by location in central California. Within San Francisco Bay (SFB) counts have been relatively stable since the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, but in coastal areas like Tomales Bay (TB), counts increased before stabilizing in the 1990s. Emigration, poor survival, and environmental effects have been hypothesized as contributors to differences between trajectories; however, basic demographic data were not available to evaluate these hypotheses. We monitored 32 radio‐tagged adult females (SFB n = 17, TB n = 15) for 20 mo (2011–2013), and estimated survival, resight, and movement probabilities using mark‐resight analyses and multistate mark‐resight models. Annual survival probability for both sites was 0.90 (95% CI = 0.18–0.99). Six seals were observed moving between locations resulting in an estimated probability of 0.042 (95% CI = 0.023–0.076) per month equal movement between sites. Resight probability was less in SFB relative to TB, likely due to differential haul‐out access, area surveyed, visibility, and resight effort. Because of wide confidence intervals and low precision of these first estimates of adult female harbor seal survival in California, this demographic must be further examined to dismiss its contribution to differing population trajectories. Using aerial survey data, we estimated 950 harbor seals in SFB (95% CI = 715–1,184) confirming numbers are still stable.

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“…There are large numbers of harbor seals in Tomales Bay (TB), adjacent to PR, and the location is less impacted by urban influences compared with SFB (McGourty et al . ; Fig. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Survival probabilities and movements of harbor seals in central California

Manugian

Greig

Lee

et al. 2016

Marine Mammal Science

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“…The application of pesticides has become a growing concern due to their adverse effects on a variety of nontargeted organisms. Adjacent urban cities and agricultural areas generate run-off containing pesticides and other contaminants that flow into nearby watersheds, where some accumulate in the sediments and biota of estuaries, marshes, and bays (McGourty et al 2009). Larval and juvenile stages of resident organisms are at particular risk in that they may be exposed during their most vulnerable developmental stages while using these habitats as nursery grounds (Beck et al 2003;Courrat et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive effects of pesticide exposure and habitat structure on behavior and predation of a marine larval fish

et al. 2014

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Coastal development has generated multiple stressors in marine and estuarine ecosystems, including habitat degradation and pollutant exposure, but the effects of these stressors on the ecology of fishes remain poorly understood. We studied the separate and combined effects of an acute 4 h sublethal exposure of the pyrethroid pesticide esfenvalerate and structural habitat complexity on behavior and predation risk of larval topsmelt (Atherinops affinis). Larvae were exposed to four nominal esfenvalerate concentrations (control, 0.12, 0.59, 1.18 lg/L), before placement into 12 L mesocosms with a three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) predator. Five treatments of artificial eelgrass included a (1) uniform and (2) patchy distribution of eelgrass at a low density (500 shoots per m 2 ), a (3) uniform and (4) patchy distribution of eelgrass at a high density (1,000 shoots per m 2 ), and (5) the absence of eelgrass. The capture success of predators and aggregative behavior of prey were observed in each mesocosm for 10 min of each trial, and mortality of prey was recorded after 60 min. Exposure to esfenvalerate increased the proportion of larvae with swimming abnormalities. Surprisingly, prey mortality did not increase linearly with pesticide exposure but increased with habitat structure (density of eelgrass), which may have been a consequence of compensating predator behavior. The degree of prey aggregation decreased with both habitat structure and pesticide exposure, suggesting that anti-predator behaviors by prey may have been hampered by the interactive effects of both of these factors.

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“…Reduced growth has been identified as "wasting away," a precursor to death Cleland et al 1988). Field studies have shown that living in estuaries with low levels of PCBs and other pollutants in sediment leads to decreased growth and longevity (McGourty et al 2009;Evrad et al 2010). Young-of-year bluefish fed prey collected from PCB-and Hg-contaminated Hackensack River estuary displayed significantly reduced growth that was a detriment to survival (Candelmo et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Natural Resource Injury

Sparks¹

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Fish, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Natural Resource Injury Daniel W. Sparks The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) program is authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) to pursue compensation for injury to, or destruction and loss of, natural resources. Fish are an important "natural resource" present in almost all aquatic ecosystems. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a hazardous substance and have been shown to cause harm to fish (and fish-eating animals). A series of investigations were conducted to determine if "injury" had occurred to creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and in one study, the fish community that creek chubs were a part of, at several PCB-contaminated study locations. We examined: hepatic condition and oxidative stress enzymes; a comprehensive look at reproductive condition; age and growth; and several metrics of fish community structure and function. Although the determination of hepatic oxidative stress is a response to PCBs, this in and of itself is not considered injury. However, it is a good biomarker of potential injury especially in the presence of other injuries, like reproductive failure. Consistent with the PCB toxicity literature, we consider hepatomegaly and lipidosis injuries that result from PCB exposure. Given that other common factors can also cause lipidosis, this is not an effective injury assessment tool. The age and growth analysis shows significantly reduced survivorship in females at the PCB sites; this is clearly an injury. Aspects of creek chub reproduction have also been adversely impacted: reduced vitellogenin (Vtg), altered sex steroid ratios, reduced fecundity, delayed/ impaired spawning of ova, and reduced / impaired testes maturation. Although not an injury per se, the reduced and seasonally altered pattern of the male secondary sex characteristic nuptial tubercles provides another line of evidence that neuroendocrine disruption is occurring at the PCB-contaminated stream sites. An assessment of the fish community at these PCB-contaminated streams also indicated that growth and survival were issues for the entire fish community. From Frye's standard of evidence [Frye v. United States, 293 F.1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923)], much of this work would have been extremely useful to trustees in court. What we found would be "generally acceptable" in our professional sphere. But scientists and lawyers look at facts differently: same language, same word, different meaning. The science of reproduction impacts is very complicated, and some aspects (i.e. neuroendocrine disruption) while clearly injury, are too complicated to prevail in the courtroom. The impacts to reproduction, including reduced vitellogenin (Vtg), reduced fecundity and delayed/ impaired spawning of ova have significant ecosystem consequences. Growth effects that follow a non-monotonic non-standard dose response curve would do poorly in court. While reduced survivorship should easily be translated to the injury known...

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Likely Population-Level Effects of Contaminants on a Resident Estuarine Fish Species: Comparing Gillichthys mirabilis Population Static Measurements and Vital Rates in San Francisco and Tomales Bays

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Survival probabilities and movements of harbor seals in central California

Survival probabilities and movements of harbor seals in central California

Interactive effects of pesticide exposure and habitat structure on behavior and predation of a marine larval fish

Fish, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Natural Resource Injury

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