Steven P. Gloss

The importance of trophic transfer in the bioaccumulation of chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for establishing Water Quality Criteria which are protective of fresh water and marine life as well as human health. In 1980 the EPA announced the availability of criteria for 65 priority toxic pollutants listed under section 307 (a)(1) of the 1977 amendments of the Clean Water Act. Stara et al. (1980) have reviewed the processes and problems involved in establishing such criteria. They list four levels of toxic effects: (1) acute, subchronic and chronic, (2) mutagenic, (3) teratogenic, and (4) carcinogenic. The latter three are all potentially genotoxic in action. Chemicals causing genetic aberrations theoretically have no threshold (Albert et al. 1977) and therefore a zero-incidence is desirable. Chemicals causing toxic action other than genotoxicity are subject to the establishment of a “No Observable Affect Exposure Level” (NOAEL) (Stara et al. 1980) and therefore have a definable threshold. Often the establishment of zero incidence levels is not feasible for genotoxic materials so risk models must be developed. The “one-hit” model recommended in the EPA’s Interim Cancer Procedures and Guidelines for Health Risk… (1976) has been used for non-threshold risk assessment in the establishment of Water Quality Criteria (EPA 1980), and a modified version was used for chemicals with determinable thresholds. In both models the accuracy of the eventual predicted measure is highly dependent on the reliability of the bioconcentration data which are available in the literature.

Androgenesis as a mechanism for chromosome set manipulation in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Abstract A variety of parameters were examined to determine the optimal protocol for the induction of androgenesis in brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) in order to produce inbred lines. Nuclear DNA in the egg was inactivated with 60 Co gamma radiation, the irradiated eggs were fertilized with normal sperm, and the first mitotic division in the newly formed zygote was blocked by hydrostatic pressure to restore diploidy. The optimal 60 Co gamma radiation dosage to inactivate the maternally derived nuclear DNA was 8.8×10 4 R. The highest percent of embryos reaching the eyed stage occurred when eggs were treated at 8500 psi for 3 min beginning 7.5 h post-fertilization at 10°C. Electrophoretic examination of protein variation in 18 newly emerged sac fry (putative androgens) from four separate treatments revealed all to be of paternal derivation. Nucleoli counts of newly hatched fry were twice as high in pressure treated putative diploids as in untreated putative haploids.

CONDITIONS FOR REESTABLISHMENT OF BROOK TROUT SALVELINUS FONTINALIS) POPULATIONS IN ACIDIC LAKES FOLLOWING BASE ADDITION

ABSTRACT Some lakes with an historical record of fish populations have undergone acidification and fish no longer exist in these systems. Toxicity data suggest that the inability of fish to survive in these acidic environments is due to increased concentrations of hydrogen ion (H+) and aluminum (Al+++) in the water column. To reestablish fish populations in lakes of this kind it is necessary to (1) determine that fish are no longer present, (2) demonstrate that fish either cannot or have limited potential to survive in the systems, and (3) change the water quality, and demonstrate increased survival of fish under differing chemical conditions. We examined two acidic lakes (Woods Lake, pH ~5.0 and Cranberry Pond, pH ~4.8) for the first two conditions by conducting fisheries surveys and in situ bioassays using fingerling (age 0) brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Woods Lake was also stocked with brook trout in the fall of 1984 and overwinter survival of two age classes determined. Emigration from the lake...

An Evaluation of New York State Lake Liming Data and the Application of Models from Scandinavian Lakes to Adirondack Lakes

Limestone dissolution efficiencies and reacidification rates observed in ten small Adirondack Mountain lakes, treated in 1983 to 1984 as part of the Extensive Liming Study (ELS), were compared with Scandinavian model predictions of dissolution (Sverdrup and Bjerle, 1983), and reacidification (Wright, 1985). The standard deviation of predicted initial dissolution was 15.4% of the observed fraction of limestone dissolved. Model predictions of dissolution for the Scandinavian lakes were similarly within 8 to 14% of observed values. Further analysis of the ELS data indicated that of the dissolution model parameters, dose rate alone was the best predictor of initial dissolution efficiency. Dissolution rates declined exponentially with time to undetectable levels within 2 to 3 yr following treatment. Total limestone dissolution efficiencies were in the range of 17 to 59% for the ELS lakes, which are comparable to levels observed in Scandinavian treatments with similar limestone materials (26 to 64%). Analysis of data from other Adirondack lakes limed by private groups and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for fisheries management programs, yielded similar estimates of dissolution efficiency for calcite based materials (average 36%). However, some of these lakes which were treated with slaked lime [Ca(OH)2], exhibited initial dissolution efficiencies approaching 100%. The simple two box dilution model of reacidification, satisfactorily predicted Ca loss rates in the ELS lakes, indicating the importance of hydrology (water retention time) as a factor controlling reacidification rates in these small, limed lakes. For the ELS lakes, the ratio of watershed area/lake volume satisfactorily predicted Ca loss rates (R2 = 0.96) and this simplified empirical model was applied to other Adirondack lakes where inadequate water chemistry and hydrologic data were available to utilize the dilution model. Limed Adirondack lakes with mean water retention times less than 4 mo reacidified within 1 yr after treatment. Given the preponderance of acidified lakes in the Adirondack region with retention times less than this threshold value of 4 mo (approximately 80% of lakes <10 ha surface area), simple whole lake liming practices would not be adequate for maintaining water quality suitable for the support of viable fish populations in these lakes.

Bioaccumulation of14 C-hexachlorobenzene in eggs and fry of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a widespread pollutant that is persistent once it enters the ecosphere. It bioaccumulates in both terrestrial and aquatic animals and is not readily metabolized. Although HCB bioaccumulation in fresh water fish has been reported, few data are available on bioaccumulation of this or other chemicals during early developmental stages of fish. The authors used the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) to examine the rates of HCB bioaccumulation during early life stages subjected to both short term (24 h) and long term (14 day) aqueous exposure. The relatively rapid development and ease of laboratory maintenance made the medaka an ideal organism for this purpose.