Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals of concern that persist in the environment. Environmental monitoring revealed high concentrations of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and other novel PFAS in the lower Cape Fear River; however, there is limited information on PFAS exposures and effects of this contamination on aquatic biota. Serum concentrations of 23 PFAS in Striped Bass ( Morone saxatilis ) from the Cape Fear River (n = 58) and a reference population from an aquaculture laboratory on the Pamlico/Tar watershed (n = 29) were quantified using liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry, and correlations between PFAS concentrations and health-related serum biomarkers were evaluated. Perfluorooctane sulfonate, the predominant PFAS in Cape Fear River Striped Bass serum, was detectable in every sample with serum concentrations reaching 977 ng/mL. Perfluorononanoic and perfluorodecanoic acid were also detected in all samples, with perfluorohexanesulfonic acid present in > 98% of the samples. HFPO-DA (range < 0.24–5.85 ng/mL) and Nafion byproduct 2 (range < 0.2–1.03 ng/mL) were detected in 48% and 78% of samples, respectively. The mean total PFAS concentration found in domestic Striped Bass raised in well-water under controlled aquaculture conditions was 40 times lower, with HPFO-DA detected in 10% of the samples, and Nafion byproduct 2 was not detected. The elevated PFAS concentrations found in the Cape Fear River Striped Bass were associated with biomarkers of alterations in the liver and immune system.

The Cape Fear River basin is located along the southeastern Atlantic Slope and is the largest river basin located within North Carolina. Historically, the ictalurid assemblage was characterized by five species of bullhead Ameiurus spp. and three species of madtom Noturus spp. Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus were introduced in the early 20th century, followed by Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris in 1965 and Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus in 1966. Long‐term analysis of the ictalurid assemblage has been confounded by disparate data sets in both electronic and historical paper‐based document archives. The goal of this study was to merge contemporary and legacy agency data sets to elucidate spatial and temporal trends in the ictalurid assemblage of the Cape Fear River basin. Rotenone surveys conducted in the 1960s documented abundant madtoms and White Catfish Ameiurus catus throughout the basin. Native species comprised the majority of the ictalurid assemblage through the early 1990s. Since 1990, Blue and Flathead catfish have been the dominant species observed. The largest native ictalurid, the White Catfish, has not been collected since 2008. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling suggests that native ictalurids were more prevalent in small tributaries with increasing distance from the initial adult Flathead Catfish stocking location. Despite the widespread distribution and abundance of nonnative ictalurids, several native species are still found in small tributaries in upstream watersheds. The North Carolina Catfish Management Plan prioritizes the conservation of native ictalurids in the state's Atlantic Slope rivers; however, some species may already be extirpated.

Abstract

We developed an R package for the Inland Fisheries Division of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to help team members share R functions and data sets. The {NCIFD} package stores several functions that were developed for agency research, including cleanBIODE(), which cleans query results from a database of standardized fish samples and imports the data into an R session. In addition, {NCIFD} stores a variety of data sets including observations from ongoing research projects, hatchery records, and administrative information. Stored in a package, data sets are instantly available for exploration and analysis in an R session, can share a common naming convention, and retain their metadata. Although developing an R package requires effort, we believe it is a useful tool that other fisheries agencies should encourage interested staff to explore. We share advice to help others get started while avoiding some missteps we encountered.