Effects of diluted bitumen exposure on juvenile sockeye salmon: From cells to performance

Diluted bitumen (dilbit; the product of oil sands extraction) is transported through freshwater ecosystems critical to Pacific salmon. This is concerning, because crude oil disrupts cardiac development, morphology, and function in embryonic fish, and cardiac impairment in salmon can have major conse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2017-02, Vol.36 (2), p.354-360
Main Authors: Alderman, Sarah L., Lin, Feng, Farrell, Anthony P., Kennedy, Christopher J., Gillis, Todd E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Migration - drug effects
Animals
Aquatic ecosystems
Biomarkers - metabolism
Bitumen
Crude oil
Ecosystem
Embryo, Nonmammalian - drug effects
Fish
Fresh Water
Heart
Heart - drug effects
Heart - embryology
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons - chemistry
Hydrocarbons - toxicity
Myocardium - metabolism
Myocardium - pathology
Myocytes, Cardiac - drug effects
Myocytes, Cardiac - metabolism
Myocytes, Cardiac - pathology
Oil and Gas Fields
Petroleum - toxicity
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - toxicity
Salmon
Salmon - embryology
Salmon - metabolism
Salmon - physiology
Salmonidae
Solubility
Swimming
Toxicity
Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
Water pollution
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Summary:Diluted bitumen (dilbit; the product of oil sands extraction) is transported through freshwater ecosystems critical to Pacific salmon. This is concerning, because crude oil disrupts cardiac development, morphology, and function in embryonic fish, and cardiac impairment in salmon can have major consequences on migratory success and fitness. The sensitivity of early life‐stage salmon to dilbit and its specific cardiotoxic effects are unknown. Sockeye salmon parr were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of the water‐soluble fraction (WSF) of dilbit for 1 wk and 4 wk, followed by an examination of molecular, morphological, and organismal endpoints related to cardiotoxicity. We show that parr are sensitive to WSF of dilbit, with total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations of 3.5 µg/L sufficient to induce a liver biomarker of PAH exposure, and total PAH of 16.4 µg/L and 66.7 µg/L inducing PAH biomarkers in the heart. Furthermore, WSF of dilbit induces concentration–dependent cardiac remodeling coincident with performance effects: fish exposed to 66.7 µg/L total PAH have relatively fewer myocytes and more collagen in the compact myocardium and impaired swimming performance at 4 wk, whereas the opposite changes occur in fish exposed to 3.5 µg/L total PAH. The results demonstrate cardiac sensitivity to dilbit exposure that could directly impact sockeye migratory success. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:354–360. © 2016 SETAC
ISSN:0730-7268
1552-8618
DOI:10.1002/etc.3533