title: Fluctuating asymmetry as a pollution monitor: The Australian estuarine smooth toadfish Tetractenos glaber (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae).
abstract: The relationship between pollution level in estuarine sediment and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of resident smooth toadfish Tetractenos glaber was evaluated. A total of 188 fish from Sydney and Hawkesbury River estuaries (5 locations from each) were analysed for 28 bilateral skull bone characters. Sediment pollution was quantified based on analysis of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) and organochlorine pesticides (DDT, DDD, DDE, chlordane, dieldrin, lindane). Sediment toxicity was characterized using the mean quotient approach (MERMQ) and ranged from low to moderate level for heavy metals and from low to severe for organochlorides. The mean shape and directional asymmetry of fish bones differed among locations, suggesting a response to local environments. FA was positively correlated with organochlorine pesticides across locations, but not with heavy metals. These results suggest that fish FA could be a useful estimator of stress caused by organic toxicity based on the MERMQ approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ichthyology and Hydrobiology, Saint-Petersburg State University, 16 linia V.O. 29, St. Petersburg 199178, Russia. Electronic address: dlajus@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lajus
authors.affiliation: Department of Ichthyology and Hydrobiology, Saint-Petersburg State University, 16 linia V.O. 29, St. Petersburg 199178, Russia. Electronic address: ayurtseva@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yurtseva
authors.affiliation: Environmental Geology Group, School of Geosciences, Sydney University, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: gavin.birch@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.affiliation: Fish Ecology Lab, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: david.booth@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Booth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D009517:New South Wales; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D023721:Tetraodontiformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Fluctuating asymmetry; Heavy metal pollution; Organic pollution; Sediments; Sydney estuaries; Tetractenos glaber