PT03 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT020) Using blood plasma for monitoring organochlorine contaminants in white sturgeon from the lower Columbia River.
Gundersen, D1, Fink, A1, Kushner, L1, Webb, M2, Feist, G2, Schreck, C2, Foster, E3, Fitzpatrick, M3, 1 Pacific University Environmental Science Program, Forest Grove, Oregon, USA2 Oregon Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA3 Department of Environmental Quality, Portland, Oregon, USA
ABSTRACT- The reproductive success of white sturgeon populations in the impounded sections of the Columbia River is poor. This has been attributed to loss of habitat and the presence of persistent organic pollutants. White sturgeon are susceptible to bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants since they are long-lived benthically-oriented fish. A previous study by our laboratory showed that liver and gonad of juvenile white sturgeon contained significant levels of organochlorine (OC) contaminants, particularly p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD. The objectives of this study were to assess the use of blood plasma for monitoring OCs in white sturgeon by comparing blood OC levels to OC levels in liver and gonadal tissues, and to determine if any correlation exists between plasma OC levels and condition factor, gonadosomatic index, plasma 17b-estradiol, testosterone, and 11-ketotestosterone levels. Reproductively immature white sturgeon from the commercial harvest were sampled from the Columbia River estuary, and pools above Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day dams. Condition factor and gonadosomatic index were measured for all fish. Blood plasma samples were analyzed for 17b-estradiol , testosterone, and 11-ketotestosterone, using RIA. Sturgeon blood plasma and tissues (liver and gonads) were analyzed for OCs using GC-ECD. DDE was the most commonly detected OC in plasma, liver and gonadal tissues. There were significant correlations between liver and plasma OC concentrations, and gonad and plasma OC concentrations for both males and females. There were no significant correlations between plasma OC concentrations and the physiological biomarkers measured in this study. Liver, gonad and plasma OC concentrations were significantly higher in sturgeon collected from the Bonneville site versus the other 3 sites. Monitoring of blood plasma could potentially be used as a nondestructive method for assessing OC exposure in adult sturgeon populations.
Key words: organochlorines, sturgeon, plasma, biomarkers