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Mercury Concentrations in Gonad, Liver, and Muscle of White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the Lower Columbia River

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Abstract

This study determined the partitioning of total mercury in liver, gonad, and cheek muscle of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmonatus) in the lower Columbia River. The relationship between tissue mercury concentrations and various physiologic parameters was assessed. White sturgeon were captured in commercial fisheries in the estuary and Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day Reservoirs. Condition factor (CF), relative weight (Wr), and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were determined for each fish (n = 57). Gonadal tissue was examined histologically to determine sex and stage of maturity. Liver (n = 49), gonad (n = 49), and cheek muscle (n = 57) were analyzed for total mercury using cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry. Tissue protein concentrations were measured by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Plasma was analyzed for testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (KT), and 17ß-estradiol (E2) using radioimmunoassay. Mean tissue mercury concentrations were higher in muscle compared with liver and gonad at all sampling locations, except Bonneville Reservoir where mean liver mercury content was the highest tissue concentration observed in the study. Significant negative correlations between plasma androgens (T and KT) and muscle mercury content and plasma E2 and liver mercury content were found. A significant positive linear relationship between white sturgeon age and liver mercury concentrations was evident. Significant negative correlations between CF and relative weight and gonad and liver mercury content were found. In addition, immature male sturgeon with increased gonad mercury content had decreased GSIs. These results suggest that mercury, in the form of methylmercury, may have an effect on the reproductive potential of white sturgeon.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a Science Research Initiation Grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust and U.S. Geological Survey, (Award No. 99HQAG0152). Fin spine sections were aged by Ruth Farr and Michele Hughes at ODFW and by Joel Van Eenennaam and Javier Linares-Casenave at the University of California, Davis. We thank C. Anthony and R. Chitwood with Oregon State University for help sampling fish and R. Bratton and J. and L. Olbeiser with Gilmore Smokehouse and S. Fick (Fishhawk Fisheries) for allowing us to sample fish at their facilities. C. Kern and T. Rien (ODFW) provided historic Wr information for white sturgeon in the reservoirs of the lower Columbia River, and T. Rien provided valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We also thank Dr. Serge Doroshov for reviewing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    M. A. H. Webb & G. W. Feist

  2. Water Quality Division, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 811 SW 6th Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97204, USA

    M. S. Fitzpatrick & E. P. Foster

  3. Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Biological Resources Division, US Geological Survey, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    C. B. Schreck

  4. Department of Environmental Science, Pacific University, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, Oregon, 97116, USA

    M. Plumlee, C. Wong & D. T. Gundersen

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  1. M. A. H. Webb
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Correspondence to M. A. H. Webb.

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Webb, M.A.H., Feist, G.W., Fitzpatrick, M.S. et al. Mercury Concentrations in Gonad, Liver, and Muscle of White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the Lower Columbia River. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 50, 443–451 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0159-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0159-0

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