Biomarkers and pollutants in the tilapia Oreochromis Niloticus in four lagoons from Reforma, Chiapas, Mexico: A case study
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abstract
The effects of the oil industry and environmental pollutants present in four lagoons from Reforma, Chiapas, Mexico, were studied assessing EROD induction, PAH metabolites, AChE and BChE activities in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Fish were collected in 18 sampling sites from four lagoons (Caracol, Rio, Enmedio, and Limon) in September 2000 (rainy season) and May 2002 (dry season). EROD activities, total hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticide concentrations were determined in the liver, and PAH metabolites, and cholinestereases activities were measured in bile and muscle, respectively. The highest concentrations of pollutants were found in fish captured in Limon, and the lowest in Caracol. Contaminant concentrations in fish liver were high, with total hydrocarbons ranging from 43.8 to 6083.2 ppm, PAH from 0.7 to 158.4 ppm, total organochlorine pesticides from 4 to 4650.1 ppb, and PCB from 1.7 to 122.3 ppb. Highest EROD and AChE/BChE activities, and PAH metabolites were observed in fish collected from Limon and Enmedio lagoons. EROD correlated with total hydrocarbons, the metabolites of pyrene and BaP, and negatively with PCB. AChE correlated negatively with PAHs, but not BChE. Biomarkers and contaminants in fish were statistically different in the two seasons and between the lagoons. This study provides useful information to demonstrate that high concentrations of contaminants are causing effects on the fish metabolism, and the use of tilapia as a test organism in tropical ecosystems. This is an abstract from the 12th International Symposium on Pollutant Responses in Marine Organisms (PRIMO 12) - Biomarkers of Pollutants (Safety Harbor, FL 5/9-13/2003).
