Respiratory and Reproductive Characteristics of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) Inhabiting a Coal Ash Settling Basin
B.
P. Staub, W. A. Hopkins, J. Novak, J. D. Congdon
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E,
Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA
Received: 30 October 2002/Accepted: 29 March 2002
Abstract.
Coal fly ash and effluent from coal ash settling basins negatively affects
metabolism and reproduction in a variety of organisms, including a number
of fish species. Some species, most notably the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia
holbrooki), are known to maintain viable populations in areas contaminated
by coal ash. While eastern mosquitofish are present in these systems,
their degree of tolerance to coal ash has not been investigated using
sublethal metrics of exposure. It is possible that eastern mosquitofish
persist in habitats affected by coal ash, but experience significant costs
such as changes in metabolism and fecundity. Thus, we investigated the
effects of coal ash on standard metabolic rate and repro- duction of eastern
mosquitofish inhabiting a coal-ash contam- inated settling basin. Standard
metabolic rates of mosquitofish from the ash contaminated site and a reference
site (mean O2 consumption = 0.286 mL/g.h ± 0.007 and
0.291 ± 0.008 mL/g .h, respectively) were not significantly different.
Despite elevated contaminant concentrations in ash basin females (selenium,
arsenic, copper, and cadmium) and their offspring (selenium), brood sizes
and offspring viability did not differ between clutches collected from
ash basin and reference site females. Our data provide further evidence
of the high degree of tolerance of eastern mosquitofishto exposure to
aquatic coal ash disposal generated by power plants. However, the basis
for such tolerance to ash remains unclear. Further investigations are
required to determine whether such tolerance is a result of species-specific
characteristics or population characteristics due to local adaptation.
SREL Reprint #2724
Staub, B. P., W. A. Hopkins, J. Novak and J. D. Congdon. 2004. Respiratory and reproductive characteristics of eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) inhabiting a coal ash settling basin. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 46:96-101.
