MP13 Aquatic Ecotoxicology
Monday, 14 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 6:30 PM in Exhibit Hall

(OLI-1117-865167) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments and Histopathological Findings in Fish from Cartagena Bay.

Olivero-Verbel, J¹, Johnson-Restrepo, B^{1, 2}, Guette-Fernandez, J, Baldiris-Avila, R¹, O'Byrne-Hoyos, I¹, Kannan, K², ¹ Environmental and Computational Chemistry Group, University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia² Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and Department of Environ. Health Sci, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA

ABSTRACT- Tropical ecosystems are of great importance due to their key role on high productivity and as habitat for many species. In the Atlantic coast of Colombia, several ecosystems are being polluted by anthropogenic sources and their overall health quality is rapidly decreasing. In this study, levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in sediments, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, as well as pathological alterations in the liver of Lisa (Mugil incilis) collected in Cartagena Bay, an industrialized estuary in northern Colombia, were compared to those found in Caimanera marsh and Totumo marsh, which are relatively low-polluted sites located in the south and north of Cartagena Bay, respectively. Sediments of Cartagena Bay had total PAH concentrations of 3206, 1738 and 1334 ng /g dry wt, in 40, 30 and 20 mesh size fractions, respectively, whereas the same compounds in Caimanera marsh and Totumo marsh were lower than 283 and 146 ng/g, dry wt, respectively. Compound-specific ratio analysis showed that PAHs from Cartagena Bay are different in sources from those collected in the other sites, being the principal sources originated from petrochemical activities and pyrolitic processes. The most important histopathological finding in liver from Lisa collected at Cartagena Bay was the high prevalence of parasite cysts. In addition, hepatomegaly, granuloma, steatosis and focal necrosis were also found although almost always in great proportion than those observed in fish from the low-polluted sites. Based on these data, Cartagena Bay can be considered to be highly polluted in terms of PAHs, which together with other environmental factors might be decreasing the health status of fish living in this ecosystem, increasing the risk for health-related problems in those people who feed on these resources. Sponsored by Colciencias, Bogota, Colombia, Grant: 1107-1312576, and the University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia.

Key words: PAHs, Mugil, Sediments, Parasites