Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners

Marine Environmental Research 15 (1985) 59-76

Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and Hatching Success in Baltic Herring Spring Spawners

P.-D. Hansen Institut fiir Wasser-, Boden- und Lufthygiene des Bundesgesundheitsamtes, Berlin Corrensplatz 1, 1000 Berlin 33, Federal Republic of Germany

& H. von Westernhagen & H. Rosenthal Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Zentrale Hamburg Notkestr. 31, 2000 Hamburg 52, Federal Republic of Germany (Received: 11 October, 1984)

ABSTRACT Eggs from 69females of spring spawning herring from the German Baltic coast ( Travemiinde, April 1979) were incubated in clean sea water (20%o S, temperature 8 °C) under standard conditions. Sixty-one trials could be used for the evaluation of hatching success. Viable hatch was taken as a measure to evaluate the effects of chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulated in gonads, liver and muscle of parental fish. PCB levels in running ripe females ranged on a wet weight basis between 19 and241 ng g- 1 (gonad), 20 and 377 ng g- t (liver) and 11 and 1820 ng g- 1 (muscle). Concentrations of other chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDD, DDE, 7-HCH, etc.) were in the same range as reported by other authors for Baltic herring (Huschenbeth, 1973, 1977). Viable hatch was significantly affected at ovary DDE concentrations higher than 18 ng g- 1 (wet wt) and PCB concentrations of more than 120 ng g- 1 (wet wt). 59 Marine Environ. Res. 0141-1136/85/$03.30 © Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1985. Printed in Great Britain

60

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal Results are compared with data obta&ed during earlier investigations with flounder eggs.

INTRODUCTION Many of the chlorinated hydrocarbons formerly in wide use for pest control or industrial purposes (i.e. plasticizers, hydraulic liquids, heat exchangers) have been recognized as being highly toxic and/or persistent in the environment. Although the use of DDT has been reduced, Randers (1972) estimated that even if DDT usage was stabilized at or decreased from its 1972 levels the concentration of DDT in fish would continue to rise for 2-50 years depending on the degree of abatement. For the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) the situation is similar. Although production has been greatly reduced, the amount of PCBs entering the Baltic annually through atmospheric fallout alone is estimated to be 6.0 t (Kihlstr6m & Berglund, 1978). Due to large quantities of PCB still in use in closed systems (Federal Republic of Germany since the 1950s about 60 000 t) and with an expected service life of these systems of about 50 years, PCB levels in the aquatic environment are not likely to decrease in the near future (Brfigmann & Luckas, 1978). The situation is reflected also by the PCB levels in German rivers, i.e. water of the River Rhine in 1980 carried a PCB load of between 0.05 and 0-5/ag litre-1, indicating a current pollution load of 5-10 t/year PCBs washed into the sea by this river alone. Thus of these and related substances which still occur in considerable concentrations in the marine environment in Baltic Sea surface waters (Brfigmann & Luckas, 1978) and fauna (Jensen, 1976; Harms et al., 1977/ 78; Luckas et al., 1978) concentrations are particularly high, even to the extent that certain parts of fishes prove to be unfit for human consumption (Huschenbeth, 1973) and investigations of von Westernhagen et al. (1981) demonstrated that high PCB levels in gonads of Baltic flounders impaired egg development and survival. Since herring are among the species which, due to their high fat content, accumulate chlorinated hydrocarbons readily, it was of particular interest to what extent the effects of the accumulated substances would influence reproductive success. The present study tries to identify the burden of chlorinated hydrocarbons in Baltic herring and their effects on hatching success (viable hatch) in this commercially important species.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 61

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Incubation Running ripe Baltic herring, Clupea harengus, were caught during late April in a drift net located near the coast of Travemiinde (FRG). The net was operated overnight and lifted during early morning hours (05.00 h). Live females were transferred to a plastic container and water exchange was guaranteed as long as the container stayed on board the fisherman's boat. Live transport to Travemfinde harbour took about 1.5 h. Fish were then removed from the container and stored in a cooling box at 4 °C. After 1 h transport time to the laboratory, eggs were stripped in single rows on glass plates, stored for 15 min at 8 °C in sea water of 20%0 salinity and fertilized with a sperm suspension derived from 10 males. After allowing 15 min contact time, glass plates and attached eggs were washed several times in clean sea water and transferred to 500ml incubation jars containing 300 ml Baltic Sea water. Three glass plates carrying between 605 and 1615 eggs were prepared from each female. Therefore, results used for interpretation were means of three replicates. Incubation was conducted at 6.5-7.5 °C and a salinity of 20%0. The incubation jars were continuously aerated. Water exchange was undertaken every 48 h until hatching, During the hatching period water was exchanged daily and total number of hatched larvae was counted and viable hatch (straight and healthy larvae) determined. A total of 69 females was used for the incubation experiments, of which 61 could be evaluated. Since all eggs were incubated under standardized conditions, the quality of the egg material (i.e. gonad burden with various trace contaminants) was considered as a major source of possible variation in hatching success.

Tissue sampling and analysis of contaminants For organochlorine analysis samples of ovaries, liver and muscle were taken. For the analysis of chlorinated hydrocarbons all tools and containers used in the preparation of samples had been previously washed in acetone. Tissue was cut with stainless steel tools from the parental fish, transferred to glass bottles closed with aluminium foil and, immediately after, stored at - 2 5 ° C until analysis. Determination of chlorinated

62

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

hydrocarbons was conducted according to the method described by Ernst et al. (1974) employed for the extraction of PCB, HCB, heptachlor-

epoxide, DDE, 0t-HCH, ~,-HCH, dieldrin and D D D from animal tissues. Frozen tissue was homogenized with quartz sand and Na2SO 4 using a small grinding mill. The organochlorines were separated from the tissue powder using a solvent mixture of n-hexane/acetone (2:1) in a glass column. In order to separate the fat from the extracts two consecutive clean-up processes using an AI20 3 column and a Florisil column with 0-5 % water content were applied. Two extracts were obtained from the Florisil column, one consisting of PCBs, HCB, DDE and the second of ~-HCH, ~,-HCH, dieldrin, heptachlorepoxide and DDD. The recovery rate of HCB was 80-90% and 92% for the other compounds. The gas chromatographic equipment used was the Packard GC model 428 fitted with a 63Ni electron capture detector. A glass column 6 ft long with an interior diameter of 2 m m was used packed with 3% OV-101 on Chromosorb WHP 100/120 mesh. The GC operating conditions were: 260 °C; injector, 240°C; N 2 flow rate, 45 ml/min. For the calculation of the PCB content the heights of four peaks on the gas chromatogram were used. The gas chromatographic measurement tolerance amounted to 2.3%.

RESULTS Accumulation of chlorinated hydrocarbons in various tissues Results obtained from the rearing experiments and the chemical residue analyses are given in Table 1(a)-(c).* Highest contamination offish tissue was found in muscle, while chlorinated hydrocarbon levels of liver and gonads were generally lower. The ranges of the different substances' contamination levels in respect to tissue are given in Table 2. Highest contamination levels have been detected for PCB, DDE and DDD. PCB levels in gonads from the Travemfinde spawning stock ranged between 19 and 241 ng g- 1. However, most of the samples (94.5 %) contained less * Editorial note: The inclusion of individual sample values in Table 1 has been agreed in the case of this paper because it is felt the data are too few to allow adequate statistical analysis. They are further believed to be important as the first values to be published for herring gonad burden of chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 63 TABLE l(a)

Clupea harengus: O v a r y C o n t a m i n a t i o n in Baltic F e m a l e s ( n g g - 1 w e t wt) ~ No. Viable Fat PCB HCB Heptachlor- DDE ot-HCH ])-HCH Dieldrin DDD hatch content A 60 epoxide

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 40 41 42

(%)

(%)

68.2 50.5 73.6 --75.6 -78.5 45.3 80.0

3.8 -3.5 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.8 3.1 2.8 3.1 2.8 2.9 2-8 3.0 2.9 3.3 2.9 3.2 2.9 3.3 3-2 3.3 2.8 2.6 2.9 2.8 3.1 3.1 2-8 3.5 2.8 2,9 3.0 2-7 3-0 3-1 2.7 3.2

- -

85.2 61.6 53.4 62.2 71.7 65.8 61-5 66.1 50.9 45.7 59,1 71,2 35,2 72,4 69,7 59.6 -46,8 57.5 61.0 59.4 72.9 66.5 63.2 51.0 81-8 75.8

67 89 107 32 33 91 55 63 97 80 88 77 46 56 56 50 38 31 47 100 145 33 46 ---107 38 52 31 -50 34 19 22 25 36 71 45

3.6 5-5 -2.4 1.9 3.3 2-7 0.4 4.0 ---nd nd 3.0 0.4 2.3 0.3 2-7 5.8 2.2 0.3 -nd 8.6 --3.4 -0.4 4.1 --nd ---5.1

1.8 2.8 -1.0 1.1 2.1 1.5 1.1 2.2 4.5 6.4 1.9 1.3 1.9 1.4 0.5 1.3 0-3 1.5 3,2 4.5 0.4 3.8 1,4 1,4 8,9 0.7 1-4 1.1 0.6 0.8 3.3 -0.6 0.7 0.7 1.4 0-7

7.9 13.3 -3.5 3.3 3.0 7-0 1.0 20.6 3-6 2.7 3-6 1.2 1.8 9.4 -5.3 < 1 5.7 13.2 26.0 < 1 2.1 1-4 34-0 3.3 2.3 9-2 0.6 < 1 5-1 1.1 nd 0.6 0.3 nd nd 6.3

9-2 5.6 4.6 5.4 5.3 8.1 6.7 5.9 6.3 1-5 3.0 7.6 3.6 1.8 3.1 7-7 5.8 5.3 6.9 6.4 7.1 7-6 6.2 4.3 2.9 4.8 5-9 4-3 5.5 7.6 5.9 6-1 5.1 3.7 8-6 -4.3 7.5

5-7 4.6 3.6 2-3 3.5 6.8 4.5 6.1 4.3 0.7 2.6 7.0 1.6 1.3 3.2 5.9 5.0 4.1 5.3 4.9 8.6 8-6 3.8 2.1 3.3 10,1 3-9 4.3 nd 12.1 5.7 4-3 3.2 1.8 2.0 -2.6 4.8

< 1 -nd 2,7 ---3.0 < 1 < 1 - -

8.1 0.6 1-5 -6-2 0.4 3.7 < 1 < 1 9.5 5-5 -1.8 1.0 ---3.8 6.9 1.8 -2-2 0.2 3.4 ----

3.2 3.2 16.0 1.8 < 1 5.5 < 1 5.6 3-1 0.9 - -

3.7 0.4 4.5 nd 5.0 0.7 3-1 3.1 3.8 9.1 3.8 -0.7 11.5 ---2.9 5-2 6.1 -1.1 0.1 3.2 nd nd nd (continued)

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

64

T A B L E

l(a)--contd.

PCB HCB HeptachlorNo. Viable Fat epoxide hatch content A 60

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

(%)

(%)

56.5 57.9 59.5 69.1 71.2 75-4 70.1 66.4 61.6 -73.0 63.1 54.4 68.1 70-1 69.7 59-0 27.9 60.6 34.4 67.2 76.4 51 "8 -71.0 73.4 46-6

2.7 3.0 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.6 3.4 2-7 3.1 3.0 2-7 3-2 2.5 2.6 1.5 2.8 1.3 2.7 3.1 6.0 2.7 2.9 1.8 1.1 3-9 2.9 3.2

65-3 -74.7 62.4

2.9 2.8 3'0 1.8

a n =69; nd =not

58 20 34 60 42 60 49 28 53 72 36 67 39 69 21 89 31

DDE ~-HCHy-HCH Dieldrin DDD

43 53 100 31 38

0-3 0.7 1.0 -0.5 0.9 -nd 5.2 nd 1-8 -2.9 3.9 0.5 2.9 2.7 0-2 3.0 2.7 0-7 2.4 2.6 3.0 1.7 0.8 1.6

1.7 0-7 1.0 1.6 1.0 1.8 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.3 1.0 0.6 1.4 0.6 0.8 2.2 0.6 1.6 1.7 1.6 0-8 3.1 0.9 1.6 1.2 4.3 0.8

3.1 2.3 5.3 4-6 2.7 8.1 2.0 0.5 7.2 2.3 4.1 -4.0 8.8 1.8 17.0 2.0 0.3 5.3 <1 3-4 24.0 4.9 9.0 <1 3.8 1.6

<1 6.4 4.2 5.1 3.9 6-0 4-3 4.9 2.8 6.7 <1 6.1 3.5 4.9 2.9 <1 4.8 2.7 2.1 <1 4.0 1.8 3.4 5-3
<1 4.0 -----nd 2.2 2.6 <1 5.7 4.2 3.7 3.8 <1 3-2 2.1 nd <1 --2.2 4.7 <1 nd --

<1 ------2-6 nd 1.3 <1 7.5 <1 1-0 <1 <1 <1 -1.4 2.8 -<1 <1 2.9 nd --

2-1 ---3.1 2.3 -2.2 7.5 0.8 1-7 10.7 2.2 6-2 1.2 4.9 0.5 2.3 2.2 1.6 -9.0 1.8 3.6 2.0 3.0 --

25 58 36 39

0.2 2.3 0-8 2.5

1.0 2.2 1.9 0.8

1.6 6.4 3-3 4.4

-2.9 -4.1

-1.9 -3.7

-nd -<1

0.2 0.2 1.9 1.8

- -

52 241 23 - -

detectable; --=no

data.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 65 T A B L E l(b)

Clupea harengus: L i v e r C o n t a m i n a t i o n in Baltic F e m a l e s ( n g g - 1 w e t wt) a No. Viable Fat PCB HCB Heptachlor- DDE ot-HCH~-HCH Dieldrin DDD hatch content A 60 epoxide

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 40 41 42

(%)

~%)

68"2 50-5 73'6 --75"6 -78.5 45-3 80"0 -85"2 61.6 53.4 62'2 71.7 65-8 61.5 66.1 50.9 45.7 59.1 71-2 35.2 72.4 69.7 59.6 -46-8 57.5 61.0 59.4 72.9 66.5 63-2 51-0 81-8 75.8

2"4 2'8 6.9 3.3 3.4 3'6 3.1 4-1 2.4 4-6 2.4 4-5 3.1 2-6 3.4 2.1 2.4 3.6 3.0 2.3 2.7 3"6 2.1 3.3 2.2 3-3 5.1 2'8 2.5 3.8 2"8 2.7 6.0 2-5 2.9 2.3 3.2 2.5

63 94 84 40 50 139 67 85 163 84 72 191 48 70 203 39 59 47 66 92 332 86 50 105 198 270 60 62 41 514 41 42 72 20 37 43 204 85

0.8 0-8 < 1 1.8 0'9 3.6 1.4 < 1 1.1 2.2 1.5 4.2 1.2 1.6 3.5 0.7 < 1 0-5 3.1 1.3 4.5 1-0 0.2 5.4 2.1 4.1 0.5 < 1 < 1 0-5 <1 0.2 0-5 0.1 0.3 0.8 2.1 1.9

1.1 2.0 2"5 1.0 1-0 2.3 1-3 7.4 < 1 2.5 2.1 5.7 1.1 2.2 4-2 0.9 0.8 1-1 2.0 1-9 6.1 2-1 1.1 2.1 2.3 4.6 1.3 1-3 < 1 1.9 4'8 1"8 2.7 0-7 1-4 0-7 3.5 1.4

6"7 12'0 2.7 3.3 0.7 4.2 7.4 < 1 20-0 6.8 1.3 7-5 1.2 4.0 12.2 1.5 0-9 1.5 7.7 6.2 52.0 8.4 1.3 17.0 33.0 32.0 5'2 7.0 < 1 9.8 3.0 2-2 4.0 0-3 3"2 3"6 24.0 2.1

5.2 5.5 1-6 3'1 < 1 3-5 4.2 5.2 6'5 7.3 1.5 1.0 6-8 6.2 2.4 6.2 5"9 5.8 6.2 6-2 . . . < 1 6.8 3.9 3.2 < 1 3.1 2-4 5"8 1.1 2.8 < 1 3.8 <1 4.1 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 4-9 5"0 8'2 8.9 8.5 8'6 < 1 < 1 5-6 5.1 < 1 < 1 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 4.5 2.5 5.6 2.2 4.2 1.7

---0.5 3.1 nd --6"4 --

< 1 5"1 25"0 nd 3.5 2.9 1.1 15-0 5.2 6"8

-----------<1 -0.4 < 1 --6-0 ------nd nd nd

18.0 6-0 11.0 15'0 3"0 4.5 4.3 < 1 < 1 32.0 10.0 6.3 14-0 17'0 18.0 4.3 10-0 5.4 46.0 1-9 0'6 10-0 3.3 4.2 5.1 27.0 13.0

.

(continued)

66

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

TABLE l(b)--contd.

No. Viable Fat PCB HCB Heptachlor- DDE ct-HCHy-HCHDieldrin DDD hatch content A 60 epo xide

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

(%)

(%)

56,5 57,9 59.5 69,1 71'2 75-4 70.1 66.4 61.6 -73.0 63.1 54.4 68-1 70.1 69.7 59-0 27.9 60.6 34.4 67'2 76.4 51.8 -71-0 73.4 46.6 -65.3 -74.7 62.4

2.2 2.6 2"6 2.7 2.5 2-2 2.4 2.2 1.8 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.0 2-3 1.9 2.7 2.2 2.7 2.5 2'8 1-8 2-0 2-3 2.4 2'0 2.9 2-4 2.7 2-3 2.7 2-4 1,.9

61 30 58 187 109 57 160 48 65 46 22 59 58 63 31 140 25 25 49 33 25 377 53 59 56 40 26 64 95 64 60 56

1.4 1-0 2.0 2.6 3.0 1.4 4.5 2.4 1.7 < 1 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 0-9 1.4 1.4 1.9 0'8 1-7 2.5 2.2 1.5 1-3

0"6 0.6 1.1 2.7 1.6 1.0 2-8 1.0 1.1 0-4 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 0.8 < 1 < 1 0.9 0.4 0.5 3.2 1-1 0.9 1.0 1.7 0.5 1.4 1.7 1.3 1-3 1-0

a n = 69; n d = n o t detectable; - - = n o data.

1.4 0.9 5.1 9.5 2'3 4.9 20.0 4-7 5.6 0.4 <1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 < 1 0-5 0.5 0.6 4.0 5.7 12.0 5-4 13"0 2.8 7.5 10.8 7.3 6.8 7-2

3.1 4.5 2-9 4.3 . 4.5 3.3 3'6 3-1 6.5 7.9 6.0 4.0 3.7 4-4 4-9 4.1 3.8 3.8 nd nd 3-7 4.1 1-3 3.7 3.7 3-1 5-9 3-1 4-9 5.7 2.9

0.9 1"3 0,4 2,7 . . 3.9 2.0 2.8 4.3 2.0 <1 3.5 4.1 4-6 1.7 5.3 1.7 4.0 < 1 nd nd < 1 1.4 0.3 0.6 1.4 2.6 3.1 3.5 5.4 6.7 3.0

nd nd nd nd

5.9 3-2 4.1 22.0

nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd

4.4 14-0 4.6 8.2 10.0 8.7 18.0 6.7 12.0 10.0 28-0 4.8 5-6 11.4 5.5 6.4 41.0 4.8 5-4 4.1 8.4 2.8 4.9 8.3 5.5 5.7 6.0

.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 67

TABLE

l(e)

Clupea harengus: Muscle C o n t a m i n a t i o n in Baltic Females (ng g-~ wet wt) a No. Viable Fat PCB HCB Heptachlor- DDE ¢t-HCHy-HCH DieMrin DDD hatch content A 60 epoxide

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 40 41 42

(%)

(%)

68"2 50"5 73"6 --75"6 -78'5 45'3 80"0 -85"2 61"6 53'4 62"2 71"7 65"8 61"5 66'1 50"9 45"7 59"1 71"2 35"2 72"4 69'7 59"6 -46"8 57"5 61'0 59"4 72"9 66"5 63"2 51'0 81 "8 75"8

17"6 12"4 8"0 18"0 18"7 9"5 12"6 9"4 7"3 19'2 5"7 7"4 13'5 9"3 6'6 9"6 9"3 13"0 7"8 5"3 2'8 9"4 12"7 11"2 4"5 2"8 9"0 5"9 14"9 7"5 7"6 13"1 14'5 10"9 11"1 11"6 7'0 7"4

372 916 475 537 234 493 469 638 270 597 1052 1269 480 645 -467 400 381 385 246 188 330 179 869 635 361 227 223 505 182 -512 211 --337 848 1 332

0'6 9'3 3"1 2"8 7'5 0"4 1"0 12'0 7'9 12'0 14'0 39"0 3'9 38'0 ---9'9 0"2 3"8 0"3 6'6 -12"0 3'3 5'0 -2"0 -1"6 -6'8 ---5'6 5"7 2'5

3"3 20"0 6'9 6"2 3'9 5"7 5"9 9'5 6'4 8"0 15'0 26"0 15"0 10"0

62"0 256-0 68-0 44-0 29-0 68-0 52"0 150'0 274"0 9"0 183"0 214"0 73'0 83'0

9"0 16"0 15'0 24'0 14'0 4-1 3-7 20"0 8"2 57"0 6"1 14-0 9'9 13-0

8"8 16"0 -18"0 10'0 6"9 6" 1 19"0 10"8 41-0 7'3 13"0 6-6 14"0

---22"0 8"9 30"9 20-0 22-0 14"0 45"0 13"0 17"3 4"0 i 1-0

22'0 43'0 142'0 27"0 11"0 45-0 36"0 80'0 25"0 85"0 23'0 36"2 18-1 38"0

--

21'0 17"0 18"0 20"0 2-9 2"0 14'0 0'9 15'0 7"5 4"6 11 "6 12"0 35"0 10'7

27"0 5'0 29"0 28"0 10'0 --41"0 24"0 3"5 -24"2 6"8 65'0 19-0

29"0

3"9 3"8 3"5 0"8 5"7 1"0 8"0 3"1 4'1 1'0 1"9 0'3 1"9

46-0 47'0 32'0 0-4 49-0 1'2 175"0 94"0 99-0 1-3 23"0 -22"0

162"0 16-0 21"0 20"0 4"4 1"8 16'0 0"6 16-0 7'7 4'6 11 '0 13"0 23'0 6'9

10"6 1'4

61"0 1.1

34'0 5-0

24"0 8-0

17"0 32"0

49-0 32'0

4"5 8"4 2'4

45'0 133'0 40"0

38"0 13"0 14'0

31-0 12'0 9-3

-17-0 9.1

73-0 12-0 43-0

--

--

30'0 44"0 25"0 21"0 28-0 23"0 53"0 63'0 35'0 31 "4 34'0 65-0 29-0

(continued)

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

68

TABLE l(e)--contd.

No. Viable Fat PCB HCB Heptachlor- DDE ~-HCHT-HCH Dieldrin DDD hatch content A 60 epoxide

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

(%)

(%)

56.5 57.9 59"5 69.1 71 "2 75.4 70.1 66-4 61.6 -73"0 63-1 54.4 68.1 70-1 69-7 59"0 27'9 60.6 34.4 67.2 76.4 51.8 -71.0 73"4 46-6 -65.3 -74.7 62.4

8'2 14.1 9'8 5.5 3-6 6.9 1.8 7.7 6.5 9.9 10.6 8-5 3-5 3.9 11-0 3.6 14'2 14.5 4.7 8-9 9.7 2.3 16.4 13.7 5-6 12.5 11.1 6.9 2-4 5.3 5'2 3.6

535 1 820 192 813 373 -263 -254 199 509 382 189 -243 127 216 500 155 281 115 607 563 688 212 481 157 219 157 122 156 228

5.2 11-9 4.7 6"5 6.3 -4-3 -4.0 5.9 11.9 2.3 1.8 -0.4 2.6 5.3 14-0 5.2 14.0 5.2 6.6 14.0 15.0 4.1 13-0 6.4 7.6 3-9 4.3 4.6 5.3

5.7 19.0 2.5 6.9 4.3

57.0 300.0 22'0 82.0 36-0

16-0 25"0 3.6 13"0 11.0

4.0 13.0 2-4 6.0 3.7

-3.1 -nd nd

29-0 23-0 5.2 66.0 40.0

2-5

28.3

57.0

41.0

45.0

85.0

3.2

36.0 25-0 71-0 37.0 12.0

5.6 4.7 25"0 21-0 3.7

6-1 4.2 17.0 15.0 5.9

nd --< 1 --

26.0 9-0 31.0 70.0 10.4

4.4 31-0 29.0 23-0 29-0 49.0 25-0 184.0 129-0 212.0 33.0 73.0 24.0 41.0 31.0 15.0 25.0 42.0

16-0 1.3 12.0 24.0 6.3 12.0 16.0 3.2 38.0 25.0 6.1 20'0 40.0 9.9 2-8 6.3 14.0 23.0

14-0 2.3 7.3 19'0 5.1 8'2 11.0 3.7 35-0 28-0 6.7 13-0 41-0 10-0 4-0 5.7 14.0 25-0

--8.1 27.0 <1 17.0 20.0 < 1 35.0 28'0 6.7 12.0 36'0 < 1 -13.0 19.0 23.0

8.3 10.0 9.1 35.0 11.8 18.0 26.0 38.0 48.0 59.0 9.5 38.0 14.0 13.0 7.4 18.0 19.0 39.0

9.9 6.4 5.0 4.1 4.3 6-0 3.0 55.0 2-0 4.9 14.0 18.0 4.8 5.5 6.2 4.4 26.0 2.7 7-0 4.7

a n = 69; nd = not detectable; - - = no data.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 69 TABLE 2 Range o f Tissue Residue Levels in Clupea harengus~

Ovary PCB ct-HCH ~:-HCH DDD DDE Dieldrin HCB Heptachlorepoxide

19-241.0 < 1-9.2 < 1-12.1 < 1-16.0 < 1-34-0 < 1-8.1 < 1 8.6 < 1-8.9

Liver 20-377-0 < 1-8.5 < 1-8.9 < 1-46.0 < 1-52.0 < 1-6.4 < 14.5 < 1-6.1

Muscle 115-1 820 1.3-162 < 1-41 7.4-142 < 1-300 < 1-65 < 1--39 < 1-55

a Chlorinated hydrocarbons: ng g - 1 wet weight basis; number o f specimens analyzed = 69.

than 120ngg-1, a contamination level considered to represent the threshold value for Baltic flounder eggs above which viable hatch was considerably reduced (von Westernhagen et al., 1981). D D E concentrations in ovaries ranged from 1 to 34 ng g - 1. Ovary contamination for other substances lay between 1 and 16 ng g- 1. PCB contamination in livers from the same females was generally higher than in gonads ranging between 20 and 377 ng g- 1 wet weight. Of the samples 74~o contained less than 100ngg -1 and only 4~o of the residue determinations resulted in values higher than 300 ng g-1 liver tissue. Again the second highest contaminant was D D E with a maximum value of 52 ng g - 1 in liver. The highest accumulation level for PCBs was found in muscle tissues. Values varied between 115 and 1820 ng g - 1. About 95 ~ of the samples analyzed exhibited values below 1000 ng g- 1. DDE muscle contamination ranged between 1 and 300 ng g - 1. Differences in PCB accumulation levels in various tissues were mainly due to differences in fat content. While ovaries contained between 1.1 and 3.9 ~ fat, liver fat values ranged from 1"8 to 6.9 ~o fat and in muscle tissue 1.8 to 19.2 ~ fat was determined. A positive correlation existed between PCB levels in fat of gonads and livers (Fig. l(a)). The same was true for gonad and liver D D E (Fig. l(b)) and heptachlorepoxide. For the other substances analyzed there was no apparent correlation between liver and ovary residue levels. Correlation between muscle and/or ovary and liver contamination could not be demonstrated. In a number of tissue samples elevated levels of DDE, D D D and ~-HCH have been detected. About

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Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners

71

Effects of gonad burden on hatching rates Total hatch varied between 40.5 and 88.2 % while viable hatch was slightly lower showing values between 34-4 and 85.2 %. Only a few experiments (five) produced rates of viable hatch lower than 50 %. Viable hatch was significantly affected by high ovary PCB and D D E contamination levels (Figs 2(a) and (b)) (Fisher's test; P (PCB), 0.006 49; P (DDE), 0.0579). Thresholds for effective ovary concentrations for PCB and DDE at the viable hatch level of 50 % have tentatively been put at 120 ng g- 1 (PCB) and 18 ng g- 1 (DDE). When looking at the plot of the viable hatch versus ovary PCB level (Fig. 2(a)) we can distinguish a group of individuals with ovary PCB concentrations of around 90-100 ng g- 1 wet weight, the '% viable hatch' is either above a linear regression line (numbers 3, 6, 26, 58, 67) or below the line (numbers 2, 9, 20, 21). Individuals located above the line except for number 58 are low in D D E (Table 1), those below the line are high in DDE. The occurrence of these two groups suggests that effects of PCB and DDE on reproductive success in herring are probably additive. Assuming that we are dealing with a linear relationship between residue level and viable hatch, the overall picture of Fig. 2(a) is influenced by the joint action of PCB and DDE and possibly other substances we have not yet identified, then individuals which fall below the line would have to suffer from more than the depicted PCB content and an average D D E load, that is high DDE burden. This is true for all four individuals (2, 9, 20, 21). In contrast, higher than expected viable hatch would call for less than average DDE load. Except for number 58 this is also true for the respective individuals (6, 26, 67, no D D E data for 3) above the line. A positive correlation existed between ovary residues of PCB and D D E [y(DDE ng/gg -1 f a t ) = 0 . 0 9 7 + 0 . 1 4 9 × PCB ngg -1 fat] r55=0.74. When calculating a multiple regression equation for the effects of PCB and D D E on percent viable hatch we find the following formula: y = 64.33 - 0-09x 1 - 0-96x 2 r x l = - 0 - 1 6 , r x 2 = - 0 - 3 4 , y = % viable hatch, x l = n g g -1 PCB, x 2 = n g g -~ DDE. The formula shows that DDE is 10 times more effective in reducing viable hatch than PCB. It is shown too that on the basis of the partial coefficients of correlation only effects of DDE are significant (r45,x2=-0.34) while those observed for PCB are not (r45.x = - 0 . 1 6 ) . This holds true at least within the range of

72

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Chlorinated

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and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners

13

concentrations considered by us, those up to 150 ngg- ‘. Beyond this value reproductive success of highly PCB contaminated ovaries (240 ng g- ‘) dropped even at very low DDE concentrations (Fig. 2(a), 62). Evaluations of viable hatch in relation to the other substances analyzed gives at present no indication for possible effects of these substances on viable hatch. But there are still other variables (substances?) which are expected to influence viable hatch, since the coefficient of determination of the multiple regression (R = O-1434) explains only 14% of the observed variation in viable hatch.

DISCUSSION Comparison of levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the tissues of herring from the Baltic shows that for most of the substances the amounts detected in the tissues examined agree with the findings of other authors as far as tissue specific concentrations are reported (ICES, 1977a, b; Dybern & Jensen, 1978). The PCB concentrations in herring ovaries reported by Huschenbeth (1977) were about twice the maximum values found by us; ovary DDE found by Huschenbeth was also somewhat higher than recorded by us (Table 2). Results for the degree of PCB contamination of ovaries were in the same range as reported by us earlier for flounder ovaries (von Westernhagen et al., 1981), but residues of DDD, DDE, y-HCH and several trace contaminants in contrast to flounder tissue were very well represented in herring gonads and livers occurring in concentrations between < 1 and 52 ng g- 1 (muscle tissue up to 300ngg-‘; Table 2). Although concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the experimental fish were not exceptionally high when compared to results of other authors, we were able to prove that even at these concentrations impairment of reproduction occurred. The effective value of 18ngg-’ DDE in ovaries at which reproductive success significantly decreased was considerably below levels of these substances commonly considered to be effective in reducing reproductive success in fishes. Similarly PCB values of 240 ng g- 1 in ovaries were also effective. For instance, in experiments fathead minnow, Pimephalespromelas, and flagfish, JordunelluJEoridue, had to be exposed experimentally to PCB (Aroclor 1242) until total body burden reached 92 000 ng g - 1 (Nebeker et al., 1974) and Johansson et al. (1970) reported 50% egg mortality in Baltic salmon, Salmo salar, only when PCB egg concentrations reached

74

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

approximately 17 000 ng g - 1, while Bengtson (1980) put the effective ovary residue level of PCB (Clophen A 50) in minnows, Phoxinus phoxinus, at 15 000 ng g - 1. Our own experiments with flounders though (von Westernhagen et al., 1981) confirm low effective PCB ovary levels. Similarly the effective DDE level as determined by us to be around 18ngg -1 in ovaries appears quite low when compared with the observations in situ of Butler et al. (1972) who reported loss of recruitment in Cynoscion nebulosus to be due to high DDT residues (up to 8000 ng g - 1) in eggs. High mortality in hatchery reared trout fry containing more than 2900ng g-1 DDT was also reported by Burdick et al. (1964) and Hogan & Brauhn (1975) (1480 ng g - 1). Hopkins et al. (1969) demonstrated DDT and its metabolite dependent increased mortality in rainbow trout at ovary DDE concentrations of 7100 ng g - 1. In the same range are the experimental data with winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, reported by Smith & Cole (1973) stating that DDT concentrations between 2000 and 4600 ng g - 1 caused high egg mortality. Considering the demonstrated high concentrations of PCB and DDE residues needed to be effective in the impairment of recruitment, our tentatively set levels of 120 ng g-1 PCB and 18 ng g-1 DDE appear very low. Probably still further substances not analyzed by us are involved in the reduction of the reproductive capacity of the Baltic herring, as indicated above. In order to discover other causative agents in situ, this type of investigation will have to be continued on a broader scale, using a larger number of experimental fish and a wider range of residues.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank Dr M. Hoppenheit for the helpful discussions in the interpretation of the results and Mrs G. F/irstenberg and J. Raas for expert technical assistance.

REFERENCES Bengtson, B.-E. (1980). Long-term effects of PCB (Clophen A 50) on growth, reproduction and swimming performance in the minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus. Wat. Res., 14, 681-7.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners 75 Briigmann, L. & Luckas, B. (1978). Zum Vorkommen von polychlorierten Biphenylen und DDT-Metabohten im Plankton und Wasser der Ostsee. Fischereiforsch. Wiss. Schriftenreihe, 16, 31-7. Burdick, G. E., Harris, E. J., Dean, H. J., Walker, T. M., Skea, J. & Colby, D. (1964). The accumulation of DDT in lake trout and the effect on reproduction. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 93, 127-36. Butler, P. A., Childress, R. & Wilson, A. J. (1972). The association of DDT residues with losses in marine productivity. In Marine pollution and sea life (Ruivo, M. (Ed.)), London, Fishing New Books, 262-6. Dybern, B. I. & Jensen, S. (1978). DDT and PCB in fish and mussels in the Kattegat-Skagerak area. Medd. Havsfish. Lysekil, 232, 1-17. Ernst, W., Schaefer, R. G., Goerke, H. & Eder, G. (1974). Aufarbeitung von Meerestieren fiir die Bestimmung von PCB, DDT, DDE, DDD, 7-HCH und HCB. Z. Anal. Chem., 272, 358-63. Harms, U., Drescher, H. E. & Huschenbeth, E. (1977/78). Further data on heavy metals and organochlorines in marine mammals from German coastal waters. Meeresforschung, 26, 153-61. Hogan, J. W. & Brauhn, J. L. (1975). Abnormal rainbow trout fry from eggs containing high residues of a PCB (Aroclor 1242). Progr. Fish Cult., 37, 229-93. Hopkins, C. L., Solly, S. R. B. & Ritchie, A. R. (1969). DDT in trout and its possible effect on reproductive potential. N . Z . J . Mar. Freshw.Res., 3, 220-9. Huschenbeth, E. (1973). Zur Speicherung yon chlorierten Kohlenwasserstoffen im Fisch. Arch. Fischereiwiss., 24, 105-16. Huschenbeth, E. (1977). ~berwachung de Speicherung von chlorierten Kohlenwasserstoffen im Fisch. Arch. Fischereiwiss., 28, 173-86. ICES (1977a). Studies oJ'the pollution of the Baltic Sea. Int. Counc. Explor. Sea Coop. Res. Rep. 63, 1-97. ICES (1977b). A baseline study of the level of contaminating substances in living resources of the North Atlantic. Int. Counc. Explor. Sea Coop. Res. Rep. 69, 1-82.

Jensen, S. (1976). DDT and PCB in the Baltic. Ambio, Spec. Rep., 4, I I 1-23. Johansson, N., Jensen, S. & Ohlsson, M. (1970). PCB-indication of effects on fish. PCB-ConJerence 1, Stockholm, September 29, 58-68. Kihlstr6m, J. E. & Berglund, E. (1978). An estimation of the amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls in the biomass of the Baltic. Ambio, 7, 175-8. Luckas, B., Berner, M. & Pscheidl, H. (1978). Zur Kontamination yon Dorschlebern aus Ostseedorschf~ingen mit chlorierten Kohlenwasserstoffen in den Jahren 1976/77. Fischerei/brsch. Wiss. SchriJL, 16, 77-81. Nebeker, A. V., Puglisi, F. A. & DeFoe, D. L. (1974). Effect of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds on survival and reproduction of the fathead minnow and flagfish. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 103, 562-8. Randers, J. (1972). System simulation to test environmental policy: DDT. Int. J. Environ. Study, 4, 51-61.

76

P.-D. Hansen, H. yon Westernhagen, H. Rosenthal

Smith, R. M. & Cole, C. F. (1973). Effects of egg concentrations of DDT and Dieldrin on development in winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 30, 1894-8. Von Westernhagen, H. et al. (1981). Bioaccumulating substances and reproductive success in Baltic flounder (Platichthys flesus). Aquatic Toxicology, 1, 85-99.