Presentation Abstract
Forage fish are an important component in marine food webs as a food source for birds, fishes, and marine mammals. In Puget Sound, Washington, populations of forage fish appear to be in decline, or have unknown stock status. Basic life history details of forage fish that are not commercially targeted, such as Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are not well understood, and potential stressors such as contaminants are even less so. Juvenile and adult sand lance collected in 2014 in North Sound (Clayton beach near Bellingham, Washington) and a historically-contaminated urban area (Eagle Harbor) were analyzed for more than 200 urban contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and represent the first data on toxic contamination in sand lance tissue in Puget Sound. PCB concentrations in sand lance tissue from Eagle Harbor were about ten times higher than in comparably sized fish from Clayton beach. Recently hatched sand lance from the contaminated site had PCB concentrations about the same as adult fish, while recently hatched sand lance from the clean site had higher PCB concentrations than adult fish, suggesting the potential for maternal transfer of PCBs to eggs. To investigate this potential route of exposure, we collected male and female sand lance from Eagle Harbor and Clayton beach in 2016. PCB concentrations were determined for composites of whole body fish tissue from two size classes of egg-bearing females (130 mm), from the eggs removed from collected females, and from males in comparable size classes. Tissue concentrations will be presented in the context of contaminant concentrations in nearshore marine sediment from companion studies. These results will provide insights into current tissue contaminant concentrations for adult sand lance as affected by fish size and level of urbanization, and inform the potential for maternal transfer of PCB contamination in sand lance.
Session Title
Persistent Organic Pollutants and PAHs in Freshwater & Marine Fish
Keywords
PCBs, PCB contaminants, Sand lance
Conference Track
SSE3: Fate, Transport, and Toxicity of Chemicals
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE3-61
Start Date
4-4-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2018 4:15 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Pacific sand lance--Effect of chemicals on--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Polychlorinated biphenyls--Environmental aspects--Washington (State)--Puget Sound
Geographic Coverage
Puget Sound (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Entry and transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Pacific sand lance life cycle, Puget Sound, Washington
Forage fish are an important component in marine food webs as a food source for birds, fishes, and marine mammals. In Puget Sound, Washington, populations of forage fish appear to be in decline, or have unknown stock status. Basic life history details of forage fish that are not commercially targeted, such as Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), are not well understood, and potential stressors such as contaminants are even less so. Juvenile and adult sand lance collected in 2014 in North Sound (Clayton beach near Bellingham, Washington) and a historically-contaminated urban area (Eagle Harbor) were analyzed for more than 200 urban contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and represent the first data on toxic contamination in sand lance tissue in Puget Sound. PCB concentrations in sand lance tissue from Eagle Harbor were about ten times higher than in comparably sized fish from Clayton beach. Recently hatched sand lance from the contaminated site had PCB concentrations about the same as adult fish, while recently hatched sand lance from the clean site had higher PCB concentrations than adult fish, suggesting the potential for maternal transfer of PCBs to eggs. To investigate this potential route of exposure, we collected male and female sand lance from Eagle Harbor and Clayton beach in 2016. PCB concentrations were determined for composites of whole body fish tissue from two size classes of egg-bearing females (130 mm), from the eggs removed from collected females, and from males in comparable size classes. Tissue concentrations will be presented in the context of contaminant concentrations in nearshore marine sediment from companion studies. These results will provide insights into current tissue contaminant concentrations for adult sand lance as affected by fish size and level of urbanization, and inform the potential for maternal transfer of PCB contamination in sand lance.
