PARENT SESSION
TP4 - In Situ Bioassays Using Transplanted Aquatic Organisms
Chair: Salazar, Mike1, 1 Applied Biomonitoring, Kirkland, WA
2:10 PM to 5:30 PM - Tuesday, 19 November 2002
Room Ballroom F
(436) ICES workshop on biological effects of contaminants in pelagic ecosystems(BECPELAG): in situ techniques.
Thain, John*,1, Becker, Gerd2, Hylland, Ketil3, Klungsoyr, Jarle4, Lang, Thomas5, McIntosh, Alistair6, Serigstad, Bjorn7, Thomas, Kevin1, Vethaak, Dick8, Wosniock, Werner10,9, 1 CEFAS, Burnham on Crouch, Essex, United Kingdom2 Bundesamt f. Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie, Hamburg, Germany3 NIVA, Oslo, Kjelsaas, Norway4 Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Nordnes, Norway5 Inst. f. Fischereiokologie BFA f. Fischerei, Cuxhaven, Germany6 FRS, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom7 IMR, Bergen, Nordnes, Norway8 RIKZ, Middelburg, Netherlands10 9 Institut fur Statistik, Universitat Bremen, Bremen, Germany
ABSTRACT- There is a lack of agreed methods to assess the impact of contaminants in pelagic ecosystems. Earlier workshops arranged under the auspices of ICES and IOC have stimulated research into the use of biological effects methods to monitor contaminant impacts in benthic ecosystems. Many of the techniques developed have now been incorporated in national and international monitoring programmes. There has been increasing interest throughout the past years to commence co-ordinated studies on effects in organisms representing pelagic ecosystems as a basis for future monitoring programmes. An objective of the workshop is to bring together scientists involved in relevant work in a practical workshop in order to assess the ability of selected methods to detect biological effects of contaminants in pelagic ecosystems using in-situ techniques. The in-situ methods consist of caged cod, sticklebacks and mussels. Cages were deployed at four locations close to the Norwegian oil fields and at four locations in German Bight in April 2001. In June, approximately six weeks later, the cages and organisms were retrieved and samples taken for a range of biological effects techniques. Samples were obtained on a contaminant gradient in the German Bight and at three stations in the vicinity of an oil field in the central/northern North Sea plus a reference area. Details of the scope of the workshop will be presented, along with the methodology of deep sea caging and the rationale for using in-situ methods. A suite of bioassay and biomarker methods were used on the organisms retreived: Mt induction, Ache, GST, histopathology, histochemistry, VTG, CYP mRNA, DNA damage, PAH metabolites, EROD, antioxidant enzymes, immunotoxicity and scope for growth. Preliminary results will be presented. More information can be found at the web-site for the workshop: http://www.niva.no/pelagic/web/.
Key words: Caged organisms, Pelagic ecosystems, Monitoring, BECPELAG