Linking Habitat Use of Hudson River Striped Bass to Accumulation of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners

Abstract

Since 1976, the commercial striped bass fishery in the Hudson River (NY) has been closed due to total polychlorinated biphenyl (t-PCB) concentrations that exceed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's advisory level of 2 µg/gwet weight. Extensive monitoring of Hudson River striped bass demonstrated much more variability in t-PCB levels among individual striped bass than could be explained by their age, sex, or lipid contents. To investigate the possible role of differential habit use among subpopulations of striped bass in controlling their PCB exposures, 70 fish collected throughout the Hudson River estuary and Long Island Sound in 1994-1995 were analyzed for PCB congeners, and their lifetime migration behaviors were estimated by otolith microchemistry. The mean salinity encountered during the fish's last growth season prior to capture was inversely correlated with the t-PCB body burden. Striped bass permanently residing in fresh and oligohaline portions of the estuary adjacent to known PCB sources had elevated t-PCB levels and congeneric patterns with higher proportions of di-, tri-, and tetrachlorobiphenyls. Conversely, fish spending the majority of their life in more saline waters of the estuary or migrating frequently throughout the salinity gradient contained lower PCB levels composed of more highly chlorinated congeners. The approach used in this study allows habitat use to be incorporated into exposure assessments for anadromous fish species such as striped bass.

Bioaccumulation of six PCB indicator congeners in a heavily polluted water reservoir in Eastern Slovakia: tissue-specific distribution in fish and their parasites

“…This protection may be a result of the efficient blood-brain barrier, as indicated by the relatively low concentrations of all the investigated PCB congeners ranging from 0.8 (PCB 28 in nonpredators) to 8.0 (PCB 153 in predators). Several other conditions/factors including the metabolic activity of individual organs, fish species, age, size, feeding habits, or the complex PCB transport in an organism may control PCB accumulation (Ashley et al 2000;Brázová et al 2011). …”

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in American Eels (Anguilla rostrata) from the Delaware River, USA

“…Subsamples (several grams wet weight) of homogenized eel tissue were extracted using previously published methods (Ashley et al, 2000;Stapleton et al, 2004). Briefly, thawed archived samples were mixed with Na 2 SO 4 to eliminate water and were extracted with dichloromethane using a Soxhlet extractor for 18 hours.…”

Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and DNA damage as an indicator of environmental stress in fish of different feeding habits of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico

“…as well as extrinsic factors (season, temperature and water quality) that may influence the bioconcentration, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of these compounds (Ashley et al 2000;Yim et al op cit.). The differences observed between the levels of pollutants could be explained by variability among individuals of the same species, as well as feeding habits.…”