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Biochemical effects of pollutant exposure in fish from urban creeks in Greenville, SC (USA)

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Abstract

The city of Greenville, SC is a rapidly expanding urban area located on the Reedy River in the upstate of South Carolina. Historical and current point-source pollutants and runoff from impermeable surfaces have resulted in a contaminated river environment, which through previous studies was demonstrated to be reflected in biological effects in fish species in the river. Because it was not known how much smaller tributaries in the urbanized area were contributing to the pollution of the main stem of the Reedy River, we collected fish (bluehead chub (Nocomis leptocephalus), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus)) from five smaller urban creeks in the Greenville area and measured several biomarkers of exposure in these animals. Enzymatic activities of cytochrome P450-1A (CYP1A) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were measured, and bile samples were analyzed for fluorescence caused by polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and for excreted estrogenic compounds. The results show that some creeks triggered significant biomarker responses in collected fish, while others were relatively clean. In particular, PAHs appear to be prevalent and caused biochemical effects, while estrogenic compounds were not significantly increased in the bile of fish from these urban creeks. A striking observation was the difference in enzyme activities in chub species compared to sunfish species; sunfish had up to five times higher CYP1A activities than chubs, while the chubs had significantly higher GST activity than sunfish. These species differences should be taken into account when they are incorporated in environmental risk assessment and biological effect monitoring programs.

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Acknowledgements

Assistance with field sampling was provided by Chisom Onyeuku from Furman University. In addition, field work assistance and some of the biomarker analyses were performed with help from Clemson University graduate students Diana Delach and Phenny Mwaanga. This project was partially funded through a grant from the South Carolina Water Resources Center. Furman University students were financially supported by the Furman Advantage Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, 132 Long Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA

    Peter van den Hurk

  2. Biology Department, Furman University, 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC, 29613, USA

    Dennis C. Haney

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  1. Peter van den Hurk
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  2. Dennis C. Haney
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Correspondence to Dennis C. Haney.

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van den Hurk, P., Haney, D.C. Biochemical effects of pollutant exposure in fish from urban creeks in Greenville, SC (USA). Environ Monit Assess 189, 211 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5918-2

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