Young of the year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) as a bioindicator of estuarine health: Establishing a new baseline for persistent organic pollutants after Hurricane Sandy for selected estuaries in New Jersey and New York

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2016-06, Vol.107 (2), p.422-431
• Main Authors: Smalling, Kelly L., Deshpande, Ashok D., Blazer, Vicki S., Dockum, Bruce W., Timmons, DeMond, Sharack, Beth L., Baker, Ronald J., Samson, Jennifer, Reilly, Timothy J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; aquatic food webs; Bioindicator; Brackish; Cyclonic Storms; Ecosystem; ectoparasites; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Estuaries; Estuarine health; fish; Fishes; Food Chain; Gills - chemistry; habitats; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; Hurricanes; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; indicator species; Isopoda; lipid content; Lironeca ovalis; Marine; monitoring; New Jersey; New York; organochlorine pesticides; Perciformes - metabolism; Persistent organic pollutants; Pesticides - analysis; piscivores; polybrominated diphenyl ethers; polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Pomatomus saltatrix; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - standards; water pollution; YOY bluefish
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.019

Atlantic coastal bays of the US are essential habitat for young of year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). Their residence in these estuaries during critical life stages, high lipid content, and piscivory make bluefish an ideal bioindicator species for evaluating estuarine health. Individual whole fish from four estuaries impacted by Hurricane Sandy were collected in August 2013, analyzed for a suite of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine pesticides and evaluated using health metrics. Concentrations in whole bluefish differed by estuary; however, concentrations for many POPs decreased or were similar to those observed prior to the hurricane. Prevalence of the ectoparasitic gill isopod (Lironeca ovalis) varied by estuary and no relationships between contaminants and lesions were observed. Bluefish should be considered for monitoring programs and, if sampled frequently, could be an effective bioindicator of incremental and episodic changes in contaminants within aquatic food webs. •YOY bluefish collected after Hurricane Sandy, evaluated for POPs and health metrics•Bluefish concentrations post-Sandy represent new baseline following a major storm.•Prevalence of parasites in bluefish higher post-Sandy compared to previous data•First documented measurement of POP concentrations in parasitic gill isopods•Bluefish unique bioindicator to evaluate incremental and episodic events in estuaries