Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports

Biomarkers of fish health are recognised as valuable biomonitoring tools that inform on the impact of pollution on biota. The integration of a suite of biomarkers in a statistical analysis that better illustrates the effects of exposure to xenobiotics on living organisms is most informative; however...

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Main Authors: Gagnon, Marthe Monique, Rawson, C.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39330
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author Gagnon, Marthe Monique
Rawson, C.
author_facet Gagnon, Marthe Monique
Rawson, C.
author_sort Gagnon, Marthe Monique
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Biomarkers of fish health are recognised as valuable biomonitoring tools that inform on the impact of pollution on biota. The integration of a suite of biomarkers in a statistical analysis that better illustrates the effects of exposure to xenobiotics on living organisms is most informative; however, most published ecotoxicological studies base the interpretation of results on individual biomarkers rather than on the information they carry as a set. To compare the interpretation of results from individual biomarkers with an interpretation based on multivariate analysis, a case study was selected where fish health was examined in two species of fish captured in two ports located in Western Australia. The suite of variables selected included chemical analysis of white muscle, body condition index, liver somatic index (LSI), hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity, serum sorbitol dehydrogenase activity, biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, oxidative DNA damage as measured by serum 8-oxo-dG, and stress protein HSP70 measured on gill tissue. Statistical analysis of individual biomarkers suggested little consistent evidence of the effects of contaminants on fish health. However, when biomarkers were integrated as a set by principal component analysis, there was evidence that the health status of fish in Fremantle port was compromised mainly due to increased LSI and greater oxidative DNA damage in fish captured within the port area relative to fish captured at a remote site. The conclusions achieved using the integrated set of biomarkers show the importance of viewing biomarkers of fish health as a set of variables rather than as isolated biomarkers of fish health.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-393302019-02-19T05:35:17Z Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports Gagnon, Marthe Monique Rawson, C. Biomarkers of fish health are recognised as valuable biomonitoring tools that inform on the impact of pollution on biota. The integration of a suite of biomarkers in a statistical analysis that better illustrates the effects of exposure to xenobiotics on living organisms is most informative; however, most published ecotoxicological studies base the interpretation of results on individual biomarkers rather than on the information they carry as a set. To compare the interpretation of results from individual biomarkers with an interpretation based on multivariate analysis, a case study was selected where fish health was examined in two species of fish captured in two ports located in Western Australia. The suite of variables selected included chemical analysis of white muscle, body condition index, liver somatic index (LSI), hepatic ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity, serum sorbitol dehydrogenase activity, biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, oxidative DNA damage as measured by serum 8-oxo-dG, and stress protein HSP70 measured on gill tissue. Statistical analysis of individual biomarkers suggested little consistent evidence of the effects of contaminants on fish health. However, when biomarkers were integrated as a set by principal component analysis, there was evidence that the health status of fish in Fremantle port was compromised mainly due to increased LSI and greater oxidative DNA damage in fish captured within the port area relative to fish captured at a remote site. The conclusions achieved using the integrated set of biomarkers show the importance of viewing biomarkers of fish health as a set of variables rather than as isolated biomarkers of fish health. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39330 10.1007/s00244-015-0258-0 fulltext
spellingShingle Gagnon, Marthe Monique
Rawson, C.
Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title_full Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title_fullStr Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title_full_unstemmed Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title_short Integrating Multiple Biomarkers of Fish Health: A Case Study of Fish Health in Ports
title_sort integrating multiple biomarkers of fish health: a case study of fish health in ports
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39330