Paul P. Yevich

Bioaccumulation and histopathological effects of oil on a stony coral

Abstract Colonies of the shallow-water Caribbean coral Manicina areolata incorporated petroleum hydrocarbons into their tissues during exposure to water accommodated fractions of No. 2 fuel oil for three months. This contamination was not removed after depuration periods of up to two weeks. Although these corals remained alive, evidence of pathological responses was found which included impaired development of reproductive tissues, degeneration and loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae, and atrophy of mucous secretory cells and muscle bundles.

Carcinogenicity of Black Rock Harbor sediment to the eastern oyster and trophic transfer of Black Rock Harbor carcinogens from the blue mussel to the winter flounder.

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) developed neoplastic disorders when experimentally exposed both in the laboratory and field to chemically contaminated sediment from Black Rock Harbor (BRH), Bridgeport, Connecticut. Neoplasia was observed in oysters after 30 and 60 days of continuous exposure in a laboratory flow-through system to a 20 mg/L suspension of BRH sediment plus postexposure periods of 0, 30, or 60 days. Composite tumor incidence was 13.6% (49 neoplasms in 40, n = 295) for both exposures. Tumor occurrence was highest in the renal excretory epithelium, followed in order by gill, gonad, gastrointestinal, heart, and embryonic neural tissue. Regression of experimental neoplasia was not observed when the stimulus was discontinued. In field experiments, gill neoplasms developed in oysters deployed in cages for 30 days at BRH and 36 days at a BRH dredge material disposal area in Central Long Island Sound, and kidney and gastrointestinal neoplasms developed in caged oysters deployed 40 days in Quincy Bay, Boston Harbor. Oysters exposed to BRH sediment in the laboratory and in the field accumulated high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and chlorinated pesticides. Chemical analyses demonstrated high concentrations of PCBs, PAHs, chlorinated pesticides, and heavy metals in BRH sediment. Known genotoxic carcinogens, co-carcinogens, and tumor promoters were present as contaminants. The uptake of parent PAH and PCBs from BRH sediment observed in oysters also occurs in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Winter flounder fed BRH-contaminated blue mussels contained xenobiotic chemicals analyzed in mussels. The flounder developed renal and pancreatic neoplasms and hepatotoxic neoplastic precursor lesions, demonstrating trophic transfer of sediment-bound carcinogens up the food chain. ImagesFIGURE 2.FIGURE 3.FIGURE 4.FIGURE 5.FIGURE 6.FIGURE 7.FIGURE 8.FIGURE 9.FIGURE 10.

NEOPLASIA IN SOFT-SHELL CLAMS (MY A ARENARIA) COLLECTED FROM OIL-IMPACTED SITES

The Histopathology Unit of our laboratory has been involved for the past 7 years in the histopathologic examination of marine invertebrates collected from various oil spill sites along the coastal areas of the United States (TABLE 1). Of the 18 species of marine invertebrates examined from 1 1 oil spill sites, only soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, collected from two oil spill sites, Long Cove, Searsport, and Harpswell Neck in Maine (FIGURES I & 2), have consistently shown neoplasms. The histopathologic results of the Long Cove surveys performed prior to 1975 were reported by Barry and Yevich.l Information on the ecologic and chemical evaluation of the Long Cove area is available in papers by Dow and Hurst2 and Mayo et al. No ecologic and chemical evaluation was performed on the Harpswell Neck area.

Recent Biogenic Phosphorite: Concretions in Mollusk Kidneys

Phosphorite concretions have been detected in the kidneys of two widespread species of mollusks, Mercenaria mercenaria and Argopecten irradians, which have relatively high population densities. These concretions are the first documentation of the direct biogenic formation of phosphorite grains. The concretions are principally amorphous calcium phosphate, which upon being heated yields an x-ray diffraction pattern which is essentially that of chlorapatite. These concretions appear to be a normal formation of the excretory process of mollusks under reproductive, environmental, or pollutant-induced stress. Biogenic production of phosphorite concretions over long periods of time and diagenetic change from amorphous to crystalline structure, coupled with secondary enrichment, may account for the formation of some marine phosphorite desposits which are not easily explained by the chemical precipitation-replacement hypothesis.

Germinomas and teratoid siphon anomalies in softshell clams, Mya arenaria, environmentally exposed to herbicides.

Seminomas and dysgerminomas are epizootic in softshell clams, Mya arenaria, from three Maine estuaries contaminated with herbicides. The first epizootic was discovered in 22% of clams collected as Searsport near Long Cove Brook and three culverts that conveyed heating oil and jet fuel spilled from a tank farm in 1971. Data from subsequent epizootiological studies and a series of long-term experimental exposures of softshell clams to no. 2 fuel oil, JP-4, and JP-5 jet fuel at the U.S. EPA, Environmental Research Laboratory in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and in the field did not support an etiology by these petroleum products. In the two recent epizootics reported here, the germinomas have been observed in 3% of the softshell clams collected from Roque Bluffs near Machiasport and from 35% of softshell clams collected from Dennysville. Mya collected at Dennysville had pericardial mesotheliomas and teratoid siphon anomalies in addition to gonadal neoplasms. Estuaries at Dennysville had been contaminated by herbicides in a 1979 accidental spray overdrift during aerial application of Tordon 101 to adjacent forests. Further investigation determined widespread use of the herbicides Tordon 101, 2,4-D,2,4,5-T, and other agrochemicals in an extensive forestry and blueberry industry in both the Roque Bluffs and the Dennysville areas. Herbicide applications at Searsport were confirmed for railroad property bordering Long Cove estuary and for Long Cove Brook adjacent to the estuary where a highway department reportedly cleans its spray equipment. Herbicide contamination is the only common denominator identified at all three sites where Mya have been found with gonadal neoplasms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) ImagesFIGURE 5.FIGURE 6.

The ecological, chemical and histopathological evaluation of an oil spill site: Part III. Histopathological Studies

Abstract In July 1971 when approximately 25% of the clams in Long Cove, Searsport, Maine, had been killed by the March 1971 oil spill, collections of surviving clams for histological examination were made. These studies were continued through 1974 and revealed a high incidence of gonadal tumours in clams contaminated by the oil. The area of highest oil impact correlated with the highest per cent of tumours. The tumours were found to be malignant neoplasms.

Effect of selected inhibitors on cadmium, nickel, and benzo(a)pyrene uptake into brown cells of Mercenaria mercenaria

Abstract Uptake and inhibition studies were used to evaluate mechanisms of uptake of Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , and B(a)P in the brown cells of M. mercenaria. Brown cells contain one or more vesicles that have been shown to be lysosomes. Cd 2+ , Ni 2+ , and B(a)P accumulation by brown cells was concentration-dependent and independent of time and temperature at 5°C. Metabolic inhibitors such as carbonyl cyanide- m -chlorophenyl hydrazone and NaF did not inhibit their uptake. N -ethylmaleimide facilitated Ni 2+ and Cd 2+ uptake, but inhibited B(a)P uptake. Buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine inhibited Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , and B(a)P uptake in a dose-dependent manner, and diethylmaleate had no effect on Cd 2+ and B(a)P uptake, but increased Ni 2+ uptake. Chloroquine and copper, which accumulate in lysosomes, inhibited Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , and B(a)P uptake. Verapamil inhibited Ni 2+ and B(a)P uptake, whereas it increased Cd uptake. Our results suggest that the brown cells of M. mercenaria are capable of accumulation of soluble foreign material and that membrane sulfhydryl groups, glutathione, and Ca 2+ channels are active in these processes.

Comparative Swimming Stamina, Biochemical Composition, Backbone Mechanical Properties, and Histopathology of Juvenile Striped Bass from Rivers and Hatcheries of the Eastern United States

Abstract Swimming stamina and indices of bodily condition were compared among young-of-the-year striped bass Morone saxatilis from the Hudson River, the Potomac and Nanticoke rivers (tributaries of Chesapeake Bay), and three hatchery stocks. Hudson River fish showed one of the poorest swimming performances, Potomac River fish the best. Wild fish as a group differed from hatchery fish as a group in the biochemical compositions of their livers and muscles, but this probably was related to their respective diets. The bones of wild fish generally had lower density, strength, and structural integrity than those of hatchery fish. Among wild fish, those from the Hudson River were exceptional for their high liver-weight: Body-weight ratio, low liver DNA and muscle protein concentrations, high liver (but average muscle) RNA:DNA ratio, poor bone quality, and heavy infestation with cestode larvae, the last being associated with extensive loss of muscle bundles. From previous work, Hudson River striped bass are known...

Comparative histopathological effects of chemically contaminated sediment on marine organisms

Comparative pathological effects in three species of fish and six species of invertebrates were investigated using a chemically contaminated sediment from Black Rock Harbor (BRH), Connecticut, USA. Substances contained in BRH sediment are known to be genotoxic, carcinogenic, co-carcinogenic and tumor-promoting. Proliferative lesions were observed in winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) external, oral and esophageal epithelial surfaces, renal vascular and nephroblastic elements, and the pancreatic islets. Islet lesions included cystic adenomas and a diffuse islet proliferative condition, nesidioblastosis. In addition, pathology was enhanced when winter flounder were fed mussels (Mytilus edulis) previously exposed to BRH sediment. Neoplastic lesions developed in kidney tubule epithelia, gills, some regions of the gastrointestinal tract, neural elements and heart of oysters (Crassostrea virginica) exposed to BRH sediment for 30 days in the laboratory. In addition, renal carcinomas in three oysters had metastasized to the viseral ganglion. Lesions were also found in oysters exposed in situ in BRH and Long Island Sound for 30 or 36 days. Digestive diverticula, gills and kidneys appeared to be the prime organs affected in mussels, soft-shelled clams (Mya arenaria) and oysters exposed to BRH sediment. Mucous cell activity increased greatly in corals (Astrangia densa) while no microscopic lesions were detectable in lobster (Homarus americanus) exposed in the laboratory. Myxomas were also found in the hearts of < 5% of the mussels exposed in the laboratory.

The nature and function of the brown cell in Crassostrea virginica

Abstract This study was undertaken to determine the role of the brown cell in Crassostrea virginica in degradative and detoxification processes. Histopathological and biochemical methods were used to study brown cells in vivo and in vitro before and after treatment with organic and inorganic compounds. Histopathological examination indicated that brown cells in the connective tissue of healthy animals were sparse, and found primarily around sinusoids and in the intertubular connective tissue of the digestive diverticula. Brown cells in the auricle were derived from connective tissue of the auricular muscle bundles and occurred on the surface and within the muscle bundles. In addition, the surface of the pericardial wall was lined with brown cells. At sites of inflammation, an increase in the number and size of brown cells occurred as well as an increase in the number and color density of brown vesicles in the cytoplasm. Brown cell isolates were separated into fractions on a Percoll discontinuous gradient. Fraction 2 contained primarily what appeared to be young brown cells (nonpigmented to lightly pigmented and granular in appearance). The majority of the cells in fraction 3 were brown cells (small to large pigmented vesicles) and fraction 4 was entirely brown vesicles (devoid of a cell membrane). Toluidine blue (soluble dye) accumulated in brown cells in vivo after injection into the visceral mass and in vitro , after addition to brown cell isolates. In com-parison, carmine red (colloidal dye) did not accumulate under the same conditions. It appeared that only soluble substances accumulate in brown cells, and that brown cells are incapable of phago- cytosing yeast cells. Brown cell vesicles fluoresced within 2 hours after addition of FITC-bovine serum albumen and acridine orange to cell isolates and within 24 h after whole animal injection. Cadmium and nickel accumulated in brown cell isolates curvilinearly with solute concentration and uptake was by passive diffusion. Brown cells and brown vesicles possess glutathione reductase, acid phosphatase and lysozyme which indicate the vesicles are lysosomes. Brown cells accumulate soluble foreign material and have the potential to function in detoxification and degradative processes.