G. J. Smith
Barnett A. Rattner
D. J. Hoffman
1993
<p><span>Morphological and biochemical indexes of contaminant exposure were examined in hatching common terns (</span><i>Sterna hirundo</i><span>) and black-crowned night herons (</span><i>Nycticorax nycticorax</i><span>) from industrialized and nonindustrialized locations in the Great Lakes. In 1984, naturally incubated, pipping common tern and black-crowned night heron embryos collected from industrialized locations exhibited smaller femur-length-to-body-weight ratios, elevated hepatic microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activities, and lower hepatic DNA concentrations (</span><i>P</i><span> < 0.05). In addition, a high incidence of subcutaneous edema was noted in pipping herons (</span><i>P</i><span> < 0.01). In 1985, reduced hatching success was observed for laboratory-incubated common tern eggs collected from the industrialized sites, compared to nonindustrialized sites (</span><i>P</i><span> < 0.01). Day-old hatchlings exhibited reduced femur-length-to-body-weight ratio, developmental anomalies, and elevated hepatic AHH activity (</span><i>P</i><span> < 0.05). For hatching common terns studied in 1984 and 1985, femur-length-to-body-weight ratio was inversely related to AHH activity (</span><i>r</i><span> = −0.67, </span><i>P</i><span> < 0.05) and inversely related to log-transformed PCB concentrations (</span><i>r</i><span> = −0.70, </span><i>P</i><span> ≤ 0.05) of unincubated eggs from the same colony. The activity of AHH in hatching terns was also directly related (</span><i>r</i><span> = 0.71, </span><i>P</i><span> ≤ 0.05) to log-transformed PCB concentrations in unincubated eggs. Other examined contaminants, including DDE, other organochlorine pesticides, and mercury, were not directly related to these effects.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1002/etc.5620120615
en
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Biomarkers of contaminant exposure in common terns and black-crowned night herons in the Great Lakes
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