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Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are known to adversely affect survival, growth, and reproduction in many aquatic species. Adult female sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon varietagus (SHM), were exposed to chronic, low levels of pyrene (12.5, 25, or 50 μg/L nominal concentrations) and the impact on reproductive ability and larval survival was assessed. Viable egg production was significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner following a 28-d exposure of SHM to pyrene, confirming reproductive dysfunction. Gonadosomatic index (GSI) values were unchanged with pyrene exposure, but histological assessment of ovarian development showed significant differences in reproductive phases in SHM exposed to pyrene for 28 d, with a greater percentage of prespawning and nonspawning females observed in the two highest pyrene concentrations. The percentage of embryos successfully hatching varied significantly among treatments, with lowest hatch occurring at 25 μg/L, but survival of larval fish to 14 d was not significantly different. These results suggest that chronic maternal exposure to low concentrations of pyrene has the potential to affect population structures by altering reproductive development and output as well as embryo/larval survival rates.
Acknowledgments
We thank R. Ryan for pyrene analysis and assistance with sampling, J. Dufreche Lopez for assistance with sampling and animal husbandry, and C. Crowder, LSU Department of Veterinary Pathology, for histological processing. Barbara Carter, EcoArray LLC, participated in initial experimental design discussions. Culture and exposure of fish is approved under University of Southern Mississippi IACUC protocol number 08110402. This project was funded by a grant to EcoArray, LLC, from NIEHS.