Liver histopathology in Baltic flounder (Platichthys flesus) as indicator of biological effects of contaminants

Abstract

Results are presented of a study on liver histopathology in Baltic flounder (Platichthys flesus) carried out in 2001 and 2002 in four coastal sampling areas of the Baltic Sea: Kvädö fjärden (Swedish east coast, reference area), Klaipeda-Butinge (Lithuanian coast), Gulf of Gdansk (Polish coast), and Wismar Bay (German coast) within the framework of the EU-funded BEEP project. Liver lesions were diagnosed and categorised using standardised methodologies and, for a spatial and temporal assessment of the prevalence and types of lesions detected, a scoring system was applied, involving the calculation of mean histopathology lesion scores. 83.0% of the 436 female flounder examined (size range: 20-43 cm total length, age range: 2-8 years) were affected by liver lesions, out of which 74.3% were assigned to the category of non-specific, 3.4% to the category of early toxicopathic non-neoplastic, 4.6% to the category of pre-neoplastic and 0.7% to the category of neoplastic lesions. Mean lesions scores were highest in the areas at the Lithuanian and Swedish coast and there is indication of an impact of the age structure of the flounder populations studied, the sampling season as well as of contaminant effects.

Biomarker responses in flounder Platichthys flesus from the Polish coastal area of the Baltic Sea and applications in biomonitoring

“…Existing long-term data on external visible diseases for flounder from the southern Baltic could provide links to population health. The data presented by Lang et al (2006) on liver histopathology indicated that flounder specimens from the Gulf of Gdansk were significantly less affected by any kind of lesion than flounder from Kvädöfjärden and from the Lithuanian coast.…”

“…PCBs, DDTs) have been reduced over the past 20-30 years, chemical pollution by a wide spectrum of hazardous substances may be assumed to be higher today than ever before. The results of pan-European project BEEP (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution on Marine Coastal Ecosystems, 2001Ecosystems, -2004 clearly indicated that present contaminant concentrations in different zones of the Baltic Sea are eliciting biological responses in various species, in some cases are leading to chronic stress and neoplastic lesions (Baršien_ e et al 2006a, b;Kopecka et al 2006;Lang et al 2006;Schiedek et al 2006;Vuorinen et al 2006). The majority of the available literature data (especially concerning contamination with POPs and trace metals) indicates that the Gulf of Gdansk is a polluted region (Biziuk et al 2001;Perttilä et al 2003;Pazdro 2004).…”

Histopathological changes in two potential indicator fish species from a hyper-eutrophic freshwater ecosystem in South Africa: a baseline study

“…As a result, catfish are more likely to be exposed to higher concentrations of potential contaminants through biomagnification. Previous studies has shown that the liver can be a useful biomarker of toxicant exposure (Schlacher et al, 2007;Lang et al, 2006;Nero et al, 2006;Feist et al, 2004;Au, 2004;Stentiford et al, 2003;Wester et al, 2002;Schmidt-Posthaus et al, 2001;Schmidt et al, 1999;Swee et al, 1996;Braunbeck and Völkl, 1993;Hinton et al, 1992). The results therefore provide valuable liver baseline data for future monitoring programmes in the RD.…”

Environmental genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in the offshore zones of the Baltic and the North Seas

“…Field studies in the framework of the EU-funded BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems, 2001Ecosystems, -2004) demonstrated biological impacts of pollution in different coastal areas of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea Baršienė et al, 2004Baršienė et al, , 2006bBaršienė et al, , 2006dLang et al, 2006;Schiedek et al, 2006;Kopecka et al, 2006). Highest genotoxicity levels were observed in fish and mussels from the Gulf of Gdansk.…”