M2 AM Aquatic Ecotoxicology (Part 1)
Monday, 14 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM in Ballroom 2

(SIM-1117-733233) Assessing Risk for Photo-enhanced Toxicity of PAHs in Larval Fish of the Coastal Great Lakes.

Simcik, M.¹, Swackhamer, D.¹, Adams, A¹, Lehr, R.¹, Mount, D.², Diamond, S. ², ¹ University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA² US EPA Mid-continent Ecology Division, ORD, Duluth, MN, USA

ABSTRACT- Photo-enhanced toxicity causes mortality in aquatic organisms exposed to sufficient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and UV-A radiation. A model for estimating this effect has been developed, but never tested in the field. A component of the Great Lakes Ecological Indicators (GLEI) project set out to evaluate this model for larval fish in the coastal Great Lakes. A surrogate measure for UV penetration was developed to readily estimate UV exposure, and PAH exposures were estimated from measurements of photo-toxic PAHs in larval fish collected from 17 sites around the Great Lakes. In addition, we established the utility of using a BSAF to estimate larval fish concentrations from sediment concentrations. Calculated photo-toxic potentials suggest that there may be sites around the coastal Great Lakes experiencing photo-enhanced toxicity. This model may be a valuable diagnostic indicator for screening aquatic coastal environments for impacts of PAHs on fish populations.

Key words: photo-enhanced toxicity, PAHs, ecological indicators, fish populations