Potential role of environmental organic contaminants in an endocrine-disrupted condition found in wild English sole (Parophrys vetulus) of the San Pedro Shelf

• Main Author: Schafer, Dana Marie
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: California State University, Long Beach 2011
• Subjects: Wildlife Conservation|Ecology|Endocrinology|Environmental science; Turbot
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1499301

Flatfishes exhibit a disrupted endocrine system when sampled from contaminated coastal off-shore locations in urban southern California. Organic chemical contaminants found in the environment accumulate in English sole (Parophrys vetulus) tissue, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and pesticides. Hepatic contaminant concentrations were measured in the same animals in which cortisol responsiveness (a measure of the stress response endocrine system) was tested. Correlation analysis demonstrated that a number of PCBs were associated with endocrine disruption, while there was little evidence for effects of other chemical types. Increasing PCB concentrations in the animals were related to decreasing cortisol responsiveness to stress suggesting an inhibitory PCB action. This study also screened hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) for endocrine disruption, which appeared to be more severe than that observed in English sole and was found to be widespread across several southern California coastal locations.