PARENT SESSION
PT1 - Aquatic Toxicology
Tuesday, 19 November 2002
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall
(P498) Biochemical effects and dose-response in Hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) exposed to a gradient of contaminated sediments collected from a natural oil seep.
Roy, Luke1, Steinert, Scott2, Bay, Steve3, Greenstein, Derrin3, Armstrong, Jeffrey4, Sapozhnikova, Yelena1, Bawardi, Ola1, Schlenk, Daniel*,1, 1 Department of Environmental Sciences University of California, Riverside, CA, USA2 Computer Services Corporation, San Diego, CA, USA3 Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Westminster, CA, USA4 Orange County Sanitation District, Fountain Valley, CA, USA
ABSTRACT- Concentrations of biliary fluorescent aromatic compounds (FACs), levels of DNA damage, and cytochrome P-450 (CYP1A) expression were measured in Hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) exposed for 7 days to a gradient of sediments collected from a natural petroleum seep in the Santa Barbara channel. Sediment concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from these seeps have been reported as high as 1000 ppm. Hornyhead turbot were collected at the City of Los Angeles Sanitation District's reference location and kept in holding tanks for three weeks prior to the experiment. A re-circulating exposure system was utilized to expose the Hornyhead turbot to the contaminated sediments. Sediments were homogenized and divided into 4 treatments containing 0% (sediment from the Orange County Sanitation District's reference location), 33%, 66%, and 100% Coal Oil Point (COP) sediments. Sediment concentrations ranged from beneath the detection limit for the 0% COP sediment treatments to 105 ppm total PAHs in the 100% treatments. Concentrations of biliary FACs and levels of DNA damage increased linearly with increasing concentrations of high molecular weight PAHs. These results further strengthen the use of biliary FACs and DNA damage as biomarkers of exposure to PAH contaminated sediments.
Key words: DNA damage, Fluorscent aromatic compounds, Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, Pleuronichthys verticalis