title: Biomarker responses in eelpouts from four coastal areas in Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
abstract: To increase our understanding of possible chemical impacts on coastal fish populations in the Baltic Sea, Kattegat and Skagerrak, the viviparous eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) was used as sentinel species in two major sampling campaigns (spring and autumn) in 16 different coastal sites. Condition factor (CF), liver somatic index (LSI), gonad somatic index (GSI) were measured and the activity of the hepatic enzymes ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione reductase GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and muscular activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were assessed. PAH metabolites in bile were also analyzed. The most notable finding in the data set was the low EROD activity in eelpouts collected at the relatively polluted region in Germany compared to the other regions, which could be due to an inhibition of the CYP1A-system or to adaptation to chronic exposure of pollutants in this area. Additionally, low AChE activity was noted in the German region in the autumn campaign and low AChE activity detected in the Danish region in the spring campaign. These differences suggest possible season-specific differences in the use and release of AChE-inhibiting chemicals in the Danish and German regions. Clustering of biomarkers on site level indicated a relationship between CF and GSI and suggested that sites with a high CF contained eelpout that put a larger effort into their larvae development. Clustering of the oxidative stress markers GR, GST and CAT on the individual level reflected a possible coordinated regulation of these enzymes. Overall, the results support the importance of taking into account general regional differences and seasonal variation in biomarker activity when monitoring and assessing the effects of pollution. Despite the expected seasonal variation for most of the measured endpoint, several markers (GSI, EROD and CF) vary similarly between all selected sites in both spring and autumn. This suggests that the differences between sites for these endpoints are independent of season.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: noomi.asker@bioenv.gu.se.
authors.forename: Noomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Asker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Albertsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg, SE-412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wijkmark
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-74242, Öregrund, Sweden; Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-178 93, Drottningholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkkonen
authors.affiliation: Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, D-22767, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kammann
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holmqvist
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg, SE-412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kristiansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Ecology Ltd., D-18184, Neu Broderstorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gercken
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Förlin
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 / Q000378:metabolism; D003718:Denmark; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005858:Germany; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D012621:Seasons; D013548:Sweden; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002374:Catalase; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase
keywords: Baltic Sea; Biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Clustering analysis; Eelpout; Pollution effects