title: Biomarker investigations in adult female perch (Perca fluviatilis) from industrialised areas in northern Sweden in 2003.
abstract: Since the new millennium, a notion has developed in certain parts of society that environmental pollutants and their associated effects are under control. The primary objective of this investigation, performed in 2003, was to test whether this was actually the case in an industrialised region in the County of Västernorrland in northern Sweden with well-documented environmental pollution from past and present activities. This was performed by measuring a moderate battery of simple biomarkers in adult female perch at several stations. The point sources included sewage-treatment plants, pulp and paper mills, as well as other industries. The biomarkers included growth, somatic indices, gonad maturation status, gonad pigmentation, fin erosion, skin ulcers, and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in the liver. The results showed that the environmental pollutants and their associated effects were not under control. In fact, the health of the perch was impaired at all of the polluted stations. Many responses were unspecific with respect to underlying cause, whereas some effects on EROD activity and gonad maturation status were attributed to historical creosote pollution and current kraft pulp mill effluents, respectively. The data presented may also be used as reference values for future investigations of health effects in perch.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM), Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden, tomas.hansson@itm.su.se.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: Wenche
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tjärnlund
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Balk
authors.forename: Bengt-Erik
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Bengtsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007221:Industry; D010471:Perches / Q000378:metabolism*; D013548:Sweden; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1