CHEMICAL CONTAMINANT EXPOSURE AND EFFECTS IN 4 FISH SPECIES FROM TAMPA-BAY, FLORIDA

Concentrations of selected anthropogenic chemical contaminants and lev els of pollution-related biological effects were measured during three consecutive years (1990-1992) in hardhead catfish (Arius felis), Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis), longnose killifish (F. majalis), and re d drum (Scieaenops ocellatus) from 12 subtidal and intertidal sites in Tampa Bay and nearby Sarasota Bay. Each species was collected from at least four sites. Compared to nonindustrialized sites, concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, and alpha-chlordane in liver, and of fluorescent aroma tic compounds in bile, were highest in fish from sites in or near Hill sborough Bay, the most industrialized portion of Tampa Bay. The result s of analyses for two biochemical markers of contaminant-induced effec ts in fish, hepatic cytochrome P4501A activities and levels of hepatic DNA adducts, also showed the highest levels to be in all four fish sp ecies from sites in the vicinity of Hillsborough Bay. Liver lesions, c onsidered to be pollution-associated in several other bottom-feeding f ish species, were found in hardhead catfish and longnose killifish, ex clusively from sites in Hillsborough Bay. Overall, concentrations of s elected contaminants and their derivatives in the four target fish spe cies generally reflected concentrations of these contaminants found in sediment. The biochemical and histopathological responses demonstrate d that chemical contaminant concentrations in the vicinity of Hillsbor ough Bay are sufficiently high to cause adverse effects in indigenous fish species. The results, collectively, showed that the extent of con taminant exposure and biological effects in fish from sites in Tampa B ay were low to moderate compared to more urbanized coastal sites of th e United States.