Grantee Research Project Results

2000 Progress Report: Fish Developmental Toxicity/Recruitment

EPA Grant Number: R825433C005
Subproject: this is subproject number 005 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R825433
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention
Center Director: Van de Water, Judith
Title: Fish Developmental Toxicity/Recruitment
Investigators: Hinton, David E. , Higashi, Richard M. , Fan, Teresa W-M. , Wilson, Barry W.
Institution: University of California - Davis
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: October 1, 1996 through September 30, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000
RFA: Exploratory Environmental Research Centers (1992) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Center for Ecological Health Research , Targeted Research

Objective:

To study effects of salinity, temperature and anthropogenic compounds on indigenous and surrogate early life stages of fish in the Sacramento River.

Progress Summary:

Early life stages of fishes are sensitive to effects of contaminant stressors. Since deleterious effects at this life stage influence development, growth, function and form of the individual and thereby recruitment in the population, studies are of immediate ecological relevance. The chorion (egg shell membrane) surrounds the embryo and partially protects the developing organism from uptake of potentially toxic substances in the water column. Earlier we perfected methods of providing contaminants in culture waters so that they were available during the time of fertilization, entering the newly fertilized egg with the water of hydration. During the past year we demonstrated enhanced metabolism and uptake of the organophosphate, diazinon, were associated with enhanced embryo toxicity. With nanoinjection methods, it is now possible to superimpose additional exposure on the developing chorionated embryo. This methodology and associated toxicity of compounds administered in this manner were reported during the past year. With normal dechorionation occurring at time of hatching, the embryo (now a larva) is potentially exposed to yet other substances within the water column, and, with onset of exogenous feeding, diet becomes an important route of uptake. With alternative sources of support, we have been able to assemble fluorescence microscopy and an interactive imaging system that permits us to capture and store images during development in a non-invasive manner. At Nagoya University in Japan, workers have developed a strain of medaka that lack pigment cells in the dermis. This see-through strain of medaka (Oryzias latipes) will be deployed to image specific fluorescent compounds in living medaka. The stage is now set for us to perform studies using the developing medaka as its own control and to assess the effect(s) of superimposed exposure events during early life stage development.

Future Activities:

Establish colony of see-through medaka. With expertise developed in zebrafish imaging of fluorescent tags, investigate effects of multiple stressors, i.e., those of relevance in the Sacramento River Watershed, on embryo and larval health.

Supplemental Keywords:

RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Environmental Chemistry, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, exploratory research environmental biology, State, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Aquatic Ecosystem, Environmental Monitoring, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecology and Ecosystems, West Coast, anthropogenic stresses, anthropogenic stress, Sacramento River, fish developmental toxicity, multiple stressors, contaminant stressors , fish , Sacremento River

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

1997

1998

1999

Final

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R825433    UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R825433C001 Potential for Long-Term Degradation of Wetland Water Quality Due to Natural Discharge of Polluted Groundwater
R825433C002 Sacramento River Watershed
R825433C003 Endocrine Disruption in Fish and Birds
R825433C004 Biomarkers of Exposure and Deleterious Effect: A Laboratory and Field Investigation
R825433C005 Fish Developmental Toxicity/Recruitment
R825433C006 Resolving Multiple Stressors by Biochemical Indicator Patterns and their Linkages to Adverse Effects on Benthic Invertebrate Patterns
R825433C007 Environmental Chemistry of Bioavailability in Sediments and Water Column
R825433C008 Reproduction of Birds and mammals in a terrestrial-aquatic interface
R825433C009 Modeling Ecosystems Under Combined Stress
R825433C010 Mercury Uptake by Fish
R825433C011 Clear Lake Watershed
R825433C012 The Role of Fishes as Transporters of Mercury
R825433C013 Wetlands Restoration
R825433C014 Wildlife Bioaccumulation and Effects
R825433C015 Microbiology of Mercury Methylation in Sediments
R825433C016 Hg and Fe Biogeochemistry
R825433C017 Water Motions and Material Transport
R825433C018 Economic Impacts of Multiple Stresses
R825433C019 The History of Anthropogenic Effects
R825433C020 Wetland Restoration
R825433C021 Sierra Nevada Watershed Project
R825433C022 Regional Transport of Air Pollutants and Exposure of Sierra Nevada Forests to Ozone
R825433C023 Biomarkers of Ozone Damage to Sierra Nevada Vegetation
R825433C024 Effects of Air Pollution on Water Quality: Emission of MTBE and Other Pollutants From Motorized Watercraft
R825433C025 Regional Movement of Toxics
R825433C026 Effect of Photochemical Reactions in Fog Drops and Aerosol Particles on the Fate of Atmospheric Chemicals in the Central Valley
R825433C027 Source Load Modeling for Sediment in Mountainous Watersheds
R825433C028 Stress of Increased Sediment Loading on Lake and Stream Function
R825433C029 Watershed Response to Natural and Anthropogenic Stress: Lake Tahoe Nutrient Budget
R825433C030 Mercury Distribution and Cycling in Sierra Nevada Waterbodies
R825433C031 Pre-contact Forest Structure
R825433C032 Identification and distribution of pest complexes in relation to late seral/old growth forest structure in the Lake Tahoe watershed
R825433C033 Subalpine Marsh Plant Communities as Early Indicators of Ecosystem Stress
R825433C034 Regional Hydrogeology and Contaminant Transport in a Sierra Nevada Ecosystem
R825433C035 Border Rivers Watershed
R825433C036 Toxicity Studies
R825433C037 Watershed Assessment
R825433C038 Microbiological Processes in Sediments
R825433C039 Analytical and Biomarkers Core
R825433C040 Organic Analysis
R825433C041 Inorganic Analysis
R825433C042 Immunoassay and Serum Markers
R825433C043 Sensitive Biomarkers to Detect Biochemical Changes Indicating Multiple Stresses Including Chemically Induced Stresses
R825433C044 Molecular, Cellular and Animal Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect
R825433C045 Microbial Community Assays
R825433C046 Cumulative and Integrative Biochemical Indicators
R825433C047 Mercury and Iron Biogeochemistry
R825433C048 Transport and Fate Core
R825433C049 Role of Hydrogeologic Processes in Alpine Ecosystem Health
R825433C050 Regional Hydrologic Modeling With Emphasis on Watershed-Scale Environmental Stresses
R825433C051 Development of Pollutant Fate and Transport Models for Use in Terrestrial Ecosystem Exposure Assessment
R825433C052 Pesticide Transport in Subsurface and Surface Water Systems
R825433C053 Currents in Clear Lake
R825433C054 Data Integration and Decision Support Core
R825433C055 Spatial Patterns and Biodiversity
R825433C056 Modeling Transport in Aquatic Systems
R825433C057 Spatial and Temporal Trends in Water Quality
R825433C058 Time Series Analysis and Modeling Ecological Risk
R825433C059 WWW/Outreach
R825433C060 Economic Effects of Multiple Stresses
R825433C061 Effects of Nutrients on Algal Growth
R825433C062 Nutrient Loading
R825433C063 Subalpine Wetlands as Early Indicators of Ecosystem Stress
R825433C064 Chlorinated Hydrocarbons
R825433C065 Sierra Ozone Studies
R825433C066 Assessment of Multiple Stresses on Soil Microbial Communities
R825433C067 Terrestrial - Agriculture
R825433C069 Molecular Epidemiology Core
R825433C070 Serum Markers of Environmental Stress
R825433C071 Development of Sensitive Biomarkers Based on Chemically Induced Changes in Expressions of Oncogenes
R825433C072 Molecular Monitoring of Microbial Populations
R825433C073 Aquatic - Rivers and Estuaries
R825433C074 Border Rivers - Toxicity Studies