Sensitivity of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) early life stages to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl.
The aquatic food web of the Great Lakes has been contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) since the mid-20th century. Threats of PCB exposures to long-lived species of fish, such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), have been uncertain because of a lack of information on the relative sensitivity of the species. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity of early-life stage lake sturgeon to 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126) or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure. Mortality, growth, morphological and tissue pathologies, swimming performance, and activity levels were used as assessment endpoints. Pericardial and yolk sac edema, tubular heart, yolk sac hemorrhaging, and small size were the most commonly observed pathologies in both TCDD and PCB-126 exposures, beginning as early as 4 d postfertilization, with many of these pathologies occurring in a dose-dependent manner. Median lethal doses for PCB-126 and TCDD in lake sturgeon were 5.4 ng/g egg (95% confidence interval, 3.9-7.4 ng/g egg) and 0.61 ng/g egg (0.47-0.82 ng/g egg), respectively. The resulting relative potency factor for PCB-126 (0.11) was greater than the World Health Organization estimate for fish (toxic equivalency factor = 0.005), suggesting that current risk assessments may underestimate PCB toxicity toward lake sturgeon. Swimming activity and endurance were reduced in lake sturgeon survivors from the median lethal doses at 60 d postfertilization. Threshold and median toxicity values indicate that lake sturgeon, like other Acipenser species, are more sensitive to PCB and TCDD than the other genus of sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus, found in North America. Indeed, lake sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes and elsewhere are susceptible to PCB/TCDD-induced developmental toxicity in embryos and reductions in swimming performance. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:988-998. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Donald E
DE
Tillitt
Five Rivers Services Corporation, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Justin A
JA
Buckler
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Diane K
DK
Nicks
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
James S
JS
Candrl
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Rachel A
RA
Claunch
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Robert W
RW
Gale
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Holly J
HJ
Puglis
Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Edward E
EE
Little
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Tiffany L
TL
Linbo
Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Mary
M
Baker
D000818:Animals; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D005399:Fishes / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006114:Great Lakes Region; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013550:Swimming; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015017:Yolk Sac / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; C023035:3,4,5,3',4'-pentachlorobiphenyl
Behavior; Developmental toxicity; Dioxins; Early-life stage; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Sturgeon