T4 PM Endangered Species and Environmental Contaminants: Status of the Science (Part 2)
Tuesday, 15 November 2005: 1:50 PM - 5:30 PM in Ballroom 4

(MEA-1117-846663) Biological responses in juvenile chinook salmon from dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Meador, J¹, Sommers, F¹, Ylitalo, G¹, Brown, D¹, ¹ NOAA Fisheries, Seattle, WA, USA

ABSTRACT- A dose-response feeding study with juvenile ocean-type chinook salmon fed PAHs in their diet for 53 days indicated adverse effects on fish growth and alterations in whole-body lipids and several blood chemistry parameters. The experiment consisted of 5 treatments and a control with 4 tank replicates per treatment. Each 500 L tank contained 50 fish and fish weight was used as a metric for assessing growth. The mean and variance for fish weight on day 0, indicated that all 24 tank replicates were statistically identical. On day 58, fish were weighed individually and treatments compared. When treatment means were tested by ANOVA, only the highest dose showed a significant reduction in mean body weight. Additional statistical examination of the data revealed significantly higher variability in fish weights from all treatments compared to the control. Most of the observed differences were due to higher proportions of lighter and heavier fish in some treatments compared to the control. Various whole-body lipid classes (triglycerides, phospholipids, wax esters), in addition to total lipid, were altered in most PAH treatments. Several of the blood chemistry parameters measured (cholesterol, triglycerides, lipase, creatinine, and albumin) were significantly affected by PAH exposure, which is consistent with our hypothesis of altered bioenergetics in the treated fish. Alterations in fish size and lipid content have important implications for reduced survival in juvenile chinook.

Key words: PAHs, salmon, lipids, growth