Use of fish to assess biological effects of contaminants in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord
Aquatic organisms in the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) and the Saguenay Fjord (SF) are exposed to complex mixtures of toxic compounds which can have deleterious impacts on populations, alone or in combination with other environmental factors. The purpose of this paper is to summarize information about biological effects of contaminants in the SLE and SF obtained using sentinel fish species. Three case studies demonstrate the complementary nature of the information acquired using different sentinel species. Studies in American eel (Anguilla rostrata) show how migratory fish can be an important vector of contamination for high level predators in the SLE. Preneoplastic liver lesions in migrating eels, likely related to an exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their growing areas, are an example of a long-term effect of contaminants which do not persist in fish tissues. DNA adducts were detected in resident SLE Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) and can be used to compare the level of exposure to genotoxic PAHs between the SLE and other estuaries of the Atlantic coast. Studies in tomcod have also revealed an interaction between their winter fasting period and persistent organic compounds (POPs) leading to a transitory increase in concentrations of POPs in the liver and to hepatic dysfunction. Field samplings in association to in situ cage exposures and laboratory experiments have been used in American plaice (Hipoglossoides platessoides) exposed to contaminated sediments from Baie des Anglais, to demonstrate immune alterations causing increased susceptibility to infectious diseases. Future studies on biological effects of contaminants in fish in the SLE and SF should pursue the development of biomarkers for different groups of contaminants, and use them in key fish species, sampled at critical stages of their life cycle, in studies combining different multistressors experimental approaches to field monitoring.