title: Young of the year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) as a bioindicator of estuarine health: Establishing a new baseline for persistent organic pollutants after Hurricane Sandy for selected estuaries in New Jersey and New York.
abstract: Atlantic coastal bays of the US are essential habitat for young of year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). Their residence in these estuaries during critical life stages, high lipid content, and piscivory make bluefish an ideal bioindicator species for evaluating estuarine health. Individual whole fish from four estuaries impacted by Hurricane Sandy were collected in August 2013, analyzed for a suite of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine pesticides and evaluated using health metrics. Concentrations in whole bluefish differed by estuary; however, concentrations for many POPs decreased or were similar to those observed prior to the hurricane. Prevalence of the ectoparasitic gill isopod (Lironeca ovalis) varied by estuary and no relationships between contaminants and lesions were observed. Bluefish should be considered for monitoring programs and, if sampled frequently, could be an effective bioindicator of incremental and episodic changes in contaminants within aquatic food webs.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, New Jersey Water Science Center, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA. Electronic address: ksmall@usgs.gov.
authors.forename: Kelly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Smalling
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Ashok D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Deshpande
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, WV, USA.
authors.forename: Vicki S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Blazer
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Dockum
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: DeMond
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Timmons
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Beth L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Sharack
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, New Jersey Water Science Center, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC, James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sandy Hook, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samson
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, New Jersey Water Science Center, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D063366:Estuaries; D005399:Fishes; D020387:Food Chain; D005880:Gills / Q000737:chemistry; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis; D009515:New Jersey; D009518:New York; D010473:Perciformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Bioindicator; Estuarine health; Hurricanes; Persistent organic pollutants; Pomatomus saltatrix; YOY bluefish