Stress status of gudgeon (Gobio gobio) from rivers in Switzerland with and without input of sewage treatment plant effluent

Abstract

To assess the importance of sewage treatment plant effluents on fish health, we studied gudgeon in two rivers in the Swiss midlands (Canton Lucerne). Both rivers receive pollution from diffuse sources, while one also receives the effluent of a sewage treatment plant. Male and female gudgeon during and outside of the spawning season were compared with respect to reproductive parameters and health status across both rivers as well as upstream and downstream of the STP. Several biomarkers were studied, including cytochrome P4501A, 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, plasma vitellogenin, ovotestis, lipid, liver histology, condition factor, gonadosomatic index, splenosomatic index, parasites of spleen and liver, population structure, and species diversity. Gudgeons of both rivers exhibited signs of a moderately impaired health status. By a stepwise backward analysis, the cytochrome P4501A content, the splenosomatic index, and the incidence of parasites in the liver were found to provide the best discrimination of the three sampling sites. Evidence of a significant elevation in response to the sewage treatment plant effluent was found neither in vitellogenin concentration nor in the ovotestis rate. While population structure was analyzed upstream and downstream of the sewage treatment plant, only gudgeons of the latter site revealed a disturbed population structure, most probably caused by a former nitrite discharge.

Biomarker responses in wild three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) as a useful tool for freshwater biomonitoring: A multiparametric approach

“…For this purpose, fish with a length between 35 and 60 mm, were collected during a four-week period out of their reproductive phase. Hence, compared to the preliminary investigation performed in sticklebacks sampled in Spring and in Autumn, the biomarker responses in the present study were characterised by a lack of gender difference according to the results previously reported in gudgeon (Faller et al, 2003;Flammarion and Garric, 1997). Moreover, the weight of fish length on AChE activity variations is strongly reduced and length can be ignored for data analysis as indicated in previous study (Payne et al, 1996).…”

Multiscale approach of fish responses to different types of environmental contaminations: A case study

“…In this study, unbalanced chub populations and altered fish communities were observed in the contaminated sites. However, higher level approaches often lack sensitivity and take into account a wide range of environmental factors other than pollution (Attrill and Depledge, 1997) since other environmental factors like habitat structure (Siligato and Böhmer, 2002;Faller et al, 2003), specific pathologies or high predation intensity (Fischnetz, 2004) are likely to influence the population and community constitution. Given the fundamental limitations of every single-level approach and the tremendous complexity of ecological systems, the only way to obtain a realistic view of the ecological health of an ecosystem is to consider a simultaneous use of several indicators at various levels of biological organization (Lagadic et al, 1997).…”

“…However, in our study, other alterations could be responsible for the apparent recruitment hiatus. Disturbances in fish populations have been noted in stations where habitat structure was poor and monotonous (Faller et al, 2003) or where interruptions of the longitudinal integrity were reported (Siligato and Böhmer, 2001). …”

Reproductive health of brown trout inhabiting Swiss rivers with declining fish catch

“…In the United Kingdom, a study by Jobling et al (1998) revealed intersex in up to 100 % of male roach (Rutilus rutilus) living downstream of STWs, compared to 0-4 % in fi sh of control sites. Intersex has also been reported in fl ounder (Lye et al, 1997), tilapia (Mousa and Mousa, 1999), barbel (Vigano et al, 2001) gudgeon (van Aerle et al, 2001;Faller et al, 2003), whitefi sh (Mikaelian et al, 2002), stickleback and European perch (Gercken and Sordyl, 2002), carp (Solé et al, 2003b); white perch (Kavanagh et al, 2004) and catfi sh (Barnhoorn, et al 2004) -indicating a widespread issue in feral fi sh populations worldwide. Although STW effl uents carry a large variety of micropollutants besides environmental estrogens (e.g.…”