Mandy R. Lindeberg

Semipermeable membrane devices link site-specific contaminants to effects: PART II – A comparison of lingering Exxon Valdez oil with other potential sources of CYP1A inducers in Prince William Sound, Alaska

We deployed semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) on beaches for 28 days at 53 sites in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, to evaluate the induction potential from suspected sources of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A)-inducing contaminants. Sites were selected to assess known point sources, or were chosen randomly to evaluate the region-wide sources. After deployment, SPMD extracts were analyzed chemically for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). These results were compared with hepatic CYP1A enzyme activity of juvenile rainbow trout injected with the same extracts prior to clean-up for the chemical analyses. Increased CYP1A activity was strongly associated with PAH concentrations in extracts, especially chrysene homologues but was not associated with POPs. The only apparent sources of chrysene homologues were lingering oil from Exxon Valdez, asphalt and bunker fuels released from storage tanks during the 1964 Alaska earthquake, creosote leaching from numerous pilings at one site, and PAH-contaminated sediments at Cordova Harbor. Our results indicate that PWS is remarkably free of pollution from PAH when nearby sources are absent as well as from pesticides and PCBs generally.

Semipermeable membrane devices link site-specific contaminants to effects: Part 1 – Induction of CYP1A in rainbow trout from contaminants in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Extracts from semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) deployed on beaches in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, were used to evaluate if complex contaminant mixtures from different sources can be distinguished by the resulting cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) activity in exposed test animals. Deployment sites included canneries, salmon hatcheries, and beaches where lingering oil remains from discharges during the 1964 earthquake or the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Other sites were selected at random to evaluate region-wide contaminant inputs or were located in salmon streams to evaluate contaminants carried and released by migrating salmon carcasses following reproduction. Following standard deployments of approximately 28 d, an aliquot of the accumulated contaminants was intraperitoneally injected without cleanup into juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). After 2 d and 7 d, the activity of CYP1A was measured by the ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) assay. Exposure to extracts from the oiled sites and one hatchery site with numerous creosote pilings elicited strong EROD responses, whereas fish exposed to salmon stream extracts elicited weak but significant responses during late summer compared to late spring. Responses from the other sites were not significant, indicating contaminants from these sources are unlikely to cause CYP1A induction in resident biota. Rather than simply assessing extant contaminants, this method evaluates the potency of the different sites for bringing about aryl hydrocarbon receptor responses in resident biota.

MORPHOLOGY AND MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF AUREOPHYCUS ALEUTICUS GEN. ET SP. NOV. (LAMINARIALES, PHAEOPHYCEAE) FROM THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS(1).

A previously unknown species of kelp was collected on Kagamil Island, Aleutian Islands. The species can be easily distinguished from any known laminarialean alga: the erect sporophytic thallus is composed of a thin lanceolate blade attaining ∼2 m in height and ∼0.50 m in width, without midrib, and the edge of the blade at the transition zone is thickened to form a V‐shape; the stipe is solid and flattened, slightly translucent, attaining ∼1 m in length; the holdfast is semidiscoidal and up to 0.15 m in diameter. Anatomically, the blade has the typical trumpet‐shaped hyphae characteristic of the Chordaceae and derived foliose laminarialean species (i.e., Alariaceae/Laminariaceae/Lessoniaceae). No hair pits or mucilaginous structures were observed on the blade or stipe. No fertile sporophytes were collected, but abundant juvenile sporophytes were observed in the field. In the molecular phylogenetic analyses using chloroplast rbcL gene, nuclear ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2 rDNA, and mitochondria nad6 DNA sequences, the new species (Aureophycus aleuticus gen. et sp. nov.) showed a closer relationship with Alariaceae of conventional taxonomy, or the “Group 1” clade of Lane et al. (2006) including Alaria and related taxa than with other groups, although the species was not clearly included in the group. Aureophycus may be a key species in elucidating the evolution of the Alariaceae within the Laminariales. Because of the lack of information on reproductive organs and insufficient resolution of the molecular analyses, we refrain from assigning the new species to a family, but we place the new species in a new genus in the Laminariales.

Fish Assemblages in Nearshore Habitats of Prince William Sound, Alaska

Abstract We sampled fish at eight locations in western Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, in April, July, and September 2006, and July 2007, to identify species assemblages and habitat use. At each location, fish were sampled with a 37-m long variable mesh beach seine in three nearshore habitats: bedrock outcrops, eelgrass meadows, and cobble beaches with kelp. A total of 49,060 fish representing 45 species were captured in 95 beach seine hauls. Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE, all species) did not differ by season but did differ by habitat type—CPUE was greater in eelgrass and kelp than in bedrock. Seasonal pulses in catch were evident for some species; pink salmon were captured only in spring and summer, Pacific herring only in summer and fall, and capelin only in fall. Species richness was greater in summer (34) than in spring (23) or fall (28), and greater in eelgrass (34) than in bedrock (22) or kelp (33). Species that were good discriminators among seasonal collections were pink salmon, saffron cod, crescent gunnel, and Pacific herring, whereas species that were good discriminators among habitat collections were crescent gunnel, tubesnout, bay pipefish, saffron cod, and Arctic shanny. Of the most abundant species captured, most were juveniles based on estimated size at maturity. The summer fish assemblage in western PWS has changed over the last 20 years, especially with the appearance in large numbers of saffron cod. Sites in this study can be monitored periodically to track future changes in fish assemblages and habitat that may result from local and regional human disturbance.

Fish Assemblages in Shallow, Nearshore Habitats of the Bering Sea

Abstract The Bering Sea provides over one-half of U.S. fishery production, yet knowledge of the use of its shallow (<5 m), nearshore (<20 m from shore) waters by fish is limited. In June 2005, we sampled shallow, nearshore waters of the Bering Sea at three Aleutian islands with a beach seine to estimate the relative abundance and species distribution of fish. Three habitat types were sampled: Nonvegetated sand substrate, vegetated cobble substrate, and vegetated bedrock substrate. A total of 70 sites were seined on Akutan, Akun, and Unalaska islands. The total estimated catch was 83,910 fish representing 33 taxa. Five species comprised 98% of the total catch. Pacific sand lance Ammodytes hexapterus was the most abundant species; approximately 35,000 of these fish were captured, and they occurred in 60% of all seine hauls. The next most abundant fish were young-of-the-year (age-0) gadids (primarily walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma), age-0 pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, age-0 Pacific sandfish Tric...

DISSOLVED- AND PARTICULATE-PHASE HYDROCARBONS IN INTERSTITIAL WATER FROM PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND INTERTIDAL BEACHES CONTAINING BURIED OIL THIRTEEN YEARS AFTER THE EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL

ABSTRACT Buried oil residues in selected beaches that were heavily contaminated by the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) continue to leach oil-contaminated suspended particulate material (SPM) and dissolved-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) into interstitial- and near-shore waters. Both are bioavailable forms of hydrocarbons that can be absorbed or consumed. On selected intertidal beaches in Prince William Sound (PWS) during June 2002, nearshore- and interstitial-water samples were collected during outgoing tides, first from a water depth of 10–15 cm above undisturbed sediments at waters edge and then from pits dug just above the waterline. At the time of collection, all samples were vacuum-filtered through 0.7-µm pore-size, glass-fiber filters using a Portable Large Volume Water Sampling System (PLVWSS) to separate dissolved- and oil-contaminated SPM fractions for detailed hydrocarbon analyses and fingerprinting. From intertidal pits at oil-impacted sites, interstitial water and SPM displaye...

Twenty-six Years After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Volunteers Continue Monitor Long-term Variability of Intertidal Biology in Western Prince William Sound

Marine populations - including fisheries, plankton, seabirds, kelp beds and biota of exposed rocky shorelines - undergo dramatic long term and inter-annual variability due in part to climate variab...