Reproductive health indicators of fishes from Pennsylvania watersheds: association with chemicals of emerging concern

Abstract

Fishes were collected at 16 sites within the three major river drainages (Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio) of Pennsylvania. Three species were evaluated for biomarkers of estrogenic/antiandrogenic exposure, including plasma vitellogenin and testicular oocytes in male fishes. Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, white sucker Catostomus commersonii, and redhorse sucker Moxostoma species were collected in the summer, a period of low flow and low reproductive activity. Smallmouth bass were the only species in which testicular oocytes were observed; however, measurable concentrations of plasma vitellogenin were found in male bass and white sucker. The percentage of male bass with testicular oocytes ranged from 10 to 100 %, with the highest prevalence and severity in bass collected in the Susquehanna drainage. The percentage of males with plasma vitellogenin ranged from 0 to 100 % in both bass and sucker. Biological findings were compared with chemical analyses of discrete water samples collected at the time of fish collections. Estrone concentrations correlated with testicular oocytes prevalence and severity and with the percentage of male bass with vitellogenin. No correlations were noted with the percentage of male sucker with vitellogenin and water chemical concentrations. The prevalence and severity of testicular oocytes in bass also correlated with the percent of agricultural land use in the watershed above a site. Two sites within the Susquehanna drainage and one in the Delaware were immediately downstream of wastewater treatment plants to compare results with upstream fish. The percentage of male bass with testicular oocytes was not consistently higher downstream; however, severity did tend to increase downstream.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10661-014-3868-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Survey of Intersex Occurrence in Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the Upper Illinois River Waterway

“…Additionally, the prevalence of parasite loads and fin erosion in many individuals, similar to those described by Blazer et al (2014), may indicate that many of the fish that we collected in our samples were suffering from other physiological impairments that could be associated with EDCs (Jobling and Tyler, 2003b). The occurrence of intersex condition in some individuals from the upper IRW was expected considering the prevalence of EDCs and other biologically active FIG.…”

“…We examined an entire single longitudinal section of testicular tissue and all testes had a length of at least 53 the diameter, which provided for surface area of a single longitudinal section that was at least equivalent to the surface area of 10 cross sections used in previous analyses of intersex in Micropterus spp. (Blazer et al, 2007;Blazer et al, 2012;Blazer et al, 2014). Intersex was confirmed when at least a single oocyte was observed, and total number of oocytes was recorded for each intersex fish.…”

“…Collections were timed to coincide with the annual spawning period of largemouth bass in northern Illinois. Previous studies have suggested intersex condition is less prevalent in male fishes that are not in spawning condition (Blazer et al, 2007;Blazer et al, 2014). We attempted to collect largemouth bass during a period of the year when our probability of catching prespawn males, and therefore detecting intersex, would be greatest.…”

“…However, little information is available to describe whether these compounds affect the health of aquatic organisms living in the larger IRW downstream of Chicago. The objective of our study was to test for the occurrence and severity of intersex condition by evaluating testicular oocytes in male largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, a species known from previous studies to be especially vulnerable to the effects of EDCs (Blazer et al, 2007;Hinck et al, 2009;Blazer et al, 2012;Blazer et al, 2014;Kellock et al, 2014), collected from the IRW (Des Plaines River) downstream of the greater Chicago Metropolitan Area.…”

River Health Evaluation Based on the Fuzzy Matter-Element Extension Assessment Model

“…Ecological flow, water quality, and aquatic life are the three most important aspects for river ecosystems. And more than 200 methods have been proposed to analyze them respectively [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. So far, there is not an appropriate comprehensive index for evaluating the river health state.…”