ANTHROPOGENIC CONTAMINANTS AND FISH HEALTH ALONG AN URBAN WATERWAY

Field studies were conducted along an urban/industrial river to invest igate the potential relationship between anthropogenic contaminants, i ncluding those related to oil refining, and fish health. The channel c atfish, Ictalurus punctatus, served as the benthic sentinel species fo r these studies. At least 15 aromatic hydrocarbons known to be associa ted with oil refining and/or other industrial activities were detected at impacted stations including known carcinogens and mutagens [e.g., anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene]. At an appropriate reference station, n o anthropogenic contaminants were identified in the waters and only 2 were observed in the sediments. Catfish collected from the reference s tation were significantly heavier, longer, and had higher relative wei ghts. Morphological deformities such as clubbed, split, and missing ba rbels were observed on 37.8% of the fish collected from the impacted s tations, while none were observed on fish from the reference station. Livers of catfish collected from the impacted stations exhibited a var iety of histological changes consistent with contaminant exposure incl uding vacuolated hepatocytes, pigment deposits, and other hepatoxic ch anges. These sublethal changes appear to be associated with chemical c ontamination and represent compromised health of individual organisms and, potentially, populations. (C) 1995 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.