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Jakubowska M, Białowąs M, Stankevičiūtė M, Chomiczewska A, Pažusienė J, Jonko-Sobuś K, Hallmann A, Urban-Malinga B. Effects of chronic exposure to microplastics of different polymer types on early life stages of sea trout Salmo trutta. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 740:139922. [PMID: 32927534 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a long-term (113 days) exposure to microplastics on the development and induction of endocrine, geno- and cytotoxic responses in early life stages of sea trout Salmo trutta. Microplastic particles (3000 μm) of three most commonly mass-produced polymers (polystyrene - PS, polyethylene terephthalate - PET and polyethylene - PE) were applied in environmentally realistic concentrations (0.1% of sediment dry weight) in a laboratory experiment imitating the natural environment, typical for sea trout spawning grounds. The exposure of the sea trout, from fertilized eggs to mobile yolk-sac larvae, to microplastics did not affect the hatching success (the survival of embryos), hatching rate and the incubation period. Microplastics of any tested polymer type also had no adverse effect on the larvae survival, growth rate and the rate of yolk sack absorption. Similarly, no changes in frequencies of detected cytotoxicity endpoints compared to the control group were recorded. Exposure to polymer particles induced however the formation of genotoxicity endpoints (nuclear buds, micronuclei and blebbed nuclei cells). The level of total genotoxicity (ΣGentox) in fish larvae erythrocytes increased significantly in the following sequence: PS > PET > PE. No significant changes in the whole body corticosterone, dehydrocorticosterone and cortisone concentrations due to exposure to microplastics were recorded, while cortisol was detected in larvae exposed to PS. Our results show that long-term, non-ingestion related exposure to microplastics does not affect development of S. trutta early life stages but may lead to genotoxic responses. PS seems to be the most hazardous among all polymers studied. This is the first study demonstrating non-ingestion related toxicity of microplastics to the early life stages of fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Jakubowska
- National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland
| | - Marcin Białowąs
- National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland
| | - Milda Stankevičiūtė
- Laboratory of Genotoxicology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos st. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Agnieszka Chomiczewska
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Janina Pažusienė
- Laboratory of Genotoxicology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos st. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Karolina Jonko-Sobuś
- National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland
| | - Anna Hallmann
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 1, 80-211, Gdańsk, Poland
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Carbajal A, Soler P, Tallo-Parra O, Isasa M, Echevarria C, Lopez-Bejar M, Vinyoles D. Towards Non-Invasive Methods in Measuring Fish Welfare: The Measurement of Cortisol Concentrations in Fish Skin Mucus as a Biomarker of Habitat Quality. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9110939. [PMID: 31717428 PMCID: PMC6912682 DOI: 10.3390/ani9110939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortisol levels in fish skin mucus have shown to be good stress indicators in farm fish exposed to different stressors. Its applicability in free-ranging animals subject to long-term environmental stressors though remains to be explored. The present study was therefore designed to examine whether skin mucus cortisol levels from a wild freshwater fish (Catalan chub, Squalius laietanus) are affected by the habitat quality. Several well-established hematological parameters and cortisol concentrations were measured in blood and compared to variations in skin mucus cortisol values across three habitats with different pollution gradient. Fluctuations of cortisol in skin mucus varied across the streams of differing habitat quality, following a similar pattern of response to that detected by the assessment of cortisol levels in blood and the hematological parameters. Furthermore, there was a close relationship between cortisol concentrations in skin mucus and several of the erythrocytic alterations and the relative proportion of neutrophils to lymphocytes. Taken together, results of this study provide the first evidence that skin mucus cortisol levels could be influenced by habitat quality. Although results should be interpreted with caution, because a small sample size was collected in one studied habitat, the measurement of cortisol in skin mucus could be potentially used as a biomarker in freshwater fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annaïs Carbajal
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain;
- Correspondence: or
| | - Patricia Soler
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (P.S.); (D.V.)
| | - Oriol Tallo-Parra
- Department of Animal and Food Science, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Marina Isasa
- Cetaqua, Centro tecnológico del agua, Cornellà de Llobregat, 08940 Barcelona, Spain; (M.I.); (C.E.)
| | - Carlos Echevarria
- Cetaqua, Centro tecnológico del agua, Cornellà de Llobregat, 08940 Barcelona, Spain; (M.I.); (C.E.)
| | - Manel Lopez-Bejar
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Dolors Vinyoles
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; (P.S.); (D.V.)
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Carbajal A, Tallo-Parra O, Monclús L, Vinyoles D, Solé M, Lacorte S, Lopez-Bejar M. Variation in scale cortisol concentrations of a wild freshwater fish: Habitat quality or seasonal influences? Gen Comp Endocrinol 2019; 275:44-50. [PMID: 30716305 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A significant body of literature suggests that aquatic pollutants can interfere with the physiological function of the fish hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis, and eventually impair the ability to cope with subsequent stressors. For this reason, development of accurate techniques to assess fish stress responses have become of growing interest. Fish scales have been recently recognized as a biomaterial that accumulates cortisol, hence it can be potentially used to assess chronic stress in laboratory conditions. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the applicability of this novel method for cortisol assessment in fish within their natural environment. Catalan chub (Squalius laietanus) were sampled from two sites; a highly polluted and a less polluted (reference) site, in order to examine if habitat quality could potentially influence the cortisol deposition in scales. We also evaluated the seasonal variation in scale cortisol levels by sampling fish at three different time points during spring-summer 2014. In each sampling, blood was collected to complement the information provided by the scales. Our results demonstrated that blood and scale cortisol levels from individuals inhabiting the reference site were significantly correlated, therefore increasing the applicability of the method as a sensitive-individual measure of fish HPI axis activity, at least in non-polluted habitats. Since different environmental conditions could potentially alter the usefulness of the technique, results highlight that further validation is required to better interpret hormone fluctuations in fish scales. Scale cortisol concentrations were unaffected by habitat quality although fish from the polluted environment presented lower circulating cortisol levels. We detected a seasonal increase in scale cortisol values concurring with an energetically costly period for the species, supporting the idea that the analysis of cortisol in scales reveals changes in the HPI axis activity. Taken together, the present study suggests that cortisol levels in scales are more likely to be influenced by mid-term, intense energetically demanding periods rather than by long-term stressors. Measurement of cortisol in fish scales can open the possibility to study novel spatio-temporal contexts of interest, yet further research is required to better understand its biological relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Carbajal
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - O Tallo-Parra
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Monclús
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - D Vinyoles
- Department of Evolutive Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Solé
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - S Lacorte
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, c/Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Lopez-Bejar
- Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
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Mehdi H, Dickson FH, Bragg LM, Servos MR, Craig PM. Impacts of wastewater treatment plant effluent on energetics and stress response of rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) in the Grand River watershed. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2018; 224:270-279. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2017.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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Lazaro-Côté A, Sadoul B, Jackson LJ, Vijayan MM. Acute stress response of fathead minnows caged downstream of municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Bow River, Calgary. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198177. [PMID: 29927929 PMCID: PMC6013188 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined whether exposure to municipal wastewater effluent (MWWE) compromised the stress performance of laboratory-reared fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) in a field setting. Adult minnows were caged at two sites upstream and three sites downstream of wastewater treatments plants (WWTPs) discharging MWWE into the Bow River, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At each site one group of fish was sampled after a 26 day exposure to MWWE, while another group was subjected to 1-min air exposure followed by 60-min confinement and then sampled. Fish morphometrics and proximate composition were measured, and whole-body cortisol, glucose and lactate levels assessed as markers of the stress response. The whole-body protein, glycogen and lipid content were higher at the site closest to a WWTP outfall relative to the other downstream and upstream sites. There were no significant differences in whole-body cortisol levels in minnows sampled at sites either upstream or downstream of WWTPs. Acute stressor exposure significantly elevated whole-body cortisol levels in all groups, and this response was not modified by the location of the sampling sites. The whole-body metabolite profile, including glucose and lactate levels, were significantly higher in fish caged immediately downstream from WWTP inputs relative to upstream sites. There was an acute-stressor-mediated increase in whole-body lactate, but not glucose, levels and this response was independent of sampling site. The results reveal that the capacity to evoke an acute stress response was not compromised in fathead minnows caged for 26 days downstream of WWTPs in the Bow River. However, there were changes in the whole-body proximate composition and metabolite levels immediately downstream from the WWTP outfall suggesting greater accumulation of energy stores in these fish. Taken together, our results suggest that environmental factors in addition to contaminants, including higher water temperature and nutrient availability, influence the impact of MWWEs on fish stress performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Analisa Lazaro-Côté
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Bastien Sadoul
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Leland J. Jackson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Matthiessen P, Wheeler JR, Weltje L. A review of the evidence for endocrine disrupting effects of current-use chemicals on wildlife populations. Crit Rev Toxicol 2017; 48:195-216. [DOI: 10.1080/10408444.2017.1397099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lennart Weltje
- BASF SE, Crop Protection – Ecotoxicology, Limburgerhof, Germany
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Johnson AC, Chen Y. Does exposure to domestic wastewater effluent (including steroid estrogens) harm fish populations in the UK? THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 589:89-96. [PMID: 28273597 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Historic fisheries data collected from locations across the UK over several years were compared with predicted estrogen exposure derived from the resident human population. This estrogen exposure could be viewed as a proxy for general sewage (wastewater) exposure. With the assistance of the Environment Agency in the UK, fisheries abundance data for Rutilis rutilis (roach), Alburnus alburnus (bleak), Leuciscus leuciscus (dace) and Perca fluviatilis (perch) from 38 separate sites collected over 7 to 17year periods were retrieved. From these data the average density (fish/m2/year) were compared against average and peak predicted estrogen (wastewater) exposure for these sites. Estrogen concentrations were predicted using the LF2000-WQX model. No correlation between estrogen/wastewater exposure and fish density could be found for any of the species. Year on year temporal changes in roach population abundance at 3 sites on the middle River Thames and 4 sites on the Great Ouse were compared against estrogen exposure over the preceding year. In this case the estrogen prediction was calculated based on the upstream human population providing the estrogen load and the daily flow value allowing concentration to be estimated over time. At none of the sites on these rivers were temporal declines in abundance associated with preceding estrogen (effluent) exposure. The results indicate that, over the past decade, wastewater and estrogen exposure has not led to a catastrophic decline in these four species of cyprinid fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew C Johnson
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB, UK.
| | - Yihong Chen
- Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
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Pottinger TG. Modulation of the stress response in wild fish is associated with variation in dissolved nitrate and nitrite. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2017; 225:550-558. [PMID: 28318786 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Disruption of non-reproductive endocrine systems in wildlife by chemicals has received little attention but represents a potentially significant problem. Nitrate is a major anthropogenic contaminant in the freshwater aquatic environment and has been identified as a potential disrupter of endocrine function in aquatic animals. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the function of the neuroendocrine stress axis in fish and inorganic N loading along reaches of rivers receiving cumulative point source and diffuse chemical inputs. To accomplish this, the responsiveness of the stress axis, quantified as the rate of release of cortisol to water across the gills during exposure to a standardised stressor, was measured in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) resident at three sites on each of four rivers in north-west England. The magnitude of the stress response in fish captured at the sites furthest downstream on all rivers was more than twice that of fish captured at upstream sites. Site-specific variation in stress axis reactivity was better explained by between-site variation in concentrations of dissolved nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia than by the concentration of wastewater treatment works effluent. An increase in the magnitude of the stress response was seen among sticklebacks at sites where long-term averaged concentrations of NH3-N, NO3-N and NO2-N exceeded 0.6, 4.0 and 0.1 mg/L respectively. These data suggest that either (i) inorganic N is a better surrogate than wastewater effluent concentration for an unknown factor or factors affecting stress axis function in fish, or (ii) dissolved inorganic N directly exerts a disruptive influence on the function of the neuroendocrine stress axis in fish, supporting concerns that nitrate is an endocrine-modulating chemical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom G Pottinger
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK.
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Pottinger TG, Matthiessen P. Long-term water quality data explain interpopulation variation in responsiveness to stress in sticklebacks at both wastewater effluent-contaminated and uncontaminated sites. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2016; 35:3014-3022. [PMID: 27167553 DOI: 10.1002/etc.3486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The magnitude of the corticosteroid response to a standardized stressor varied in proportion to the concentration of effluent in three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) captured downstream of 10 wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs). However, at 9 sites with no upstream WWTP input interpopulation variation in the reactivity of the stress axis occurred across a similar range to that seen for fish at impacted sites, suggesting that the factor(s) responsible for modulating stress responsiveness in sticklebacks is not unique to sites receiving WWTP effluent. Physicochemical data from a long-term monitoring program were employed to investigate whether variation in water quality contributed to between-site variation in stress axis reactivity. Between-site variation in 14 water quality determinands explained between 30% and 60% of the variation in stress reactivity and fish size for sticklebacks at both WWTP-contaminated and uncontaminated sites. At uncontaminated sites the mean mass and length of sticklebacks increased with total oxidized nitrogen (N) concentration (as an indicator of anthropogenic input), whereas at WWTP-contaminated sites fish size decreased with increasing effluent concentration, suggesting that factors adversely affecting growth were present predominantly at WWTP-contaminated sites. In contrast, at both contaminated and uncontaminated sites the magnitude of the corticosteroid response to a standardized stressor increased with anthropogenic input (effluent concentration or total oxidized N, respectively), indicating that a factor or factors modulating the reactivity of the stress axis may be present at both WWTP-contaminated and uncontaminated sites. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:3014-3022. © 2016 SETAC.
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