Maternal Transfer and Effects of Selenium on Early Life Stage Development of Redside Shiner (Richardsonius balteatus).

Maternal transfer of selenium (Se) to developing fish eggs during vitellogenesis can cause larval deformity and mortality. Previous studies have shown wide variation among fish species in both the magnitude of maternal transfer (exposure) and the egg Se concentration causing effects (sensitivity). We studied maternal transfer and effects of Se on early life stage development, survival, and growth of redside shiner (Richardsonius balteatus), a small-bodied cyprinid that has been reported to have relatively high ovary:muscle Se concentration ratios.

Analysis of Selenium in Fish Tissue: An Interlaboratory Study on Weight Constraints.

Environmental monitoring programs that target fish tissues for selenium (Se) analysis present unique sampling and analytical challenges. Selenium monitoring programs ideally focus on egg/ovary sampling but frequently sample multiple tissues with varying lipid content, often target small-bodied fish species because of their small home ranges, and require reporting in units of dry weight. In addition, there is a growing impetus for nonlethal tissue sampling in fish monitoring.

Silver toxicity across salinity gradients: the role of dissolved silver chloride species (AgCl x ) in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) and medaka (Oryzias latipes) early life-stage toxicity.

The influence of salinity on Ag toxicity was investigated in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) early life-stages. Embryo mortality was significantly reduced as salinity increased and Ag(+) was converted to AgCl(solid). However, as salinity continued to rise (>5 ‰), toxicity increased to a level at least as high as observed for Ag(+) in deionized water.

High-Throughput Tissue Bioenergetics Analysis Reveals Identical Metabolic Allometric Scaling for Teleost Hearts and Whole Organisms.

Organismal metabolic rate, a fundamental metric in biology, demonstrates an allometric scaling relationship with body size. Fractal-like vascular distribution networks of biological systems are proposed to underlie metabolic rate allometric scaling laws from individual organisms to cells, mitochondria, and enzymes. Tissue-specific metabolic scaling is notably absent from this paradigm.

Microchemical analysis of selenium in otoliths of two West Virginia fishes captured near mountaintop removal coal mining operations.

Otoliths, calcified inner ear structures, were collected from creek chubs (Semotilus atromaculatus) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) living in mountaintop mining-impacted and reference streams and analyzed for selenium (Se) content using laser ablation-inductively coupled mass spectrometry. Significant differences in otolith Se were found between the 2 fish species. Results from the present study suggest that a retrospective reconstruction of Se concentrations in muscle can be derived from Se concentrations in otoliths in creek chub but not green sunfish, exemplifying the importance of species differences when determining partitioning of Se among specific tissues.

Assessing different mechanisms of toxicity in mountaintop removal/valley fill coal mining-affected watershed samples using Caenorhabditis elegans.

Mountaintop removal-valley fill coal mining has been associated with a variety of impacts on ecosystem and human health, in particular reductions in the biodiversity of receiving streams. However, effluents emerging from valley fills contain a complex mixture of chemicals including metals, metalloids, and salts, and it is not clear which of these are the most important drivers of toxicity. We found that streamwater and sediment samples collected from mine-impacted streams of the Upper Mud River in West Virginia inhibited the growth of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.