Evaluation of three-year-monitoring with biomarkers in fish following the Prestige oil spill (N Spain)

A previous study using a suite of hepatic enzymatic biomarker in two demersal fish species (Lepidorhombus boscii and Callionymus lyra) indicated exposure of the fish to the hydrocarbons in the oil spilled by the Prestige five months after the accident. The main objective of this follow-up study is t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez-Gómez, Concepción, Fernández-Galindo, Beatriz, Valdés-García, Nadia Juliana, Campillo-González, Juan Antonio, Benedicto, J., Sánchez, Francisco, Vethaak, André Dirk
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/320665
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/320665
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Medio Marino
Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia
Descripción
Sumario:A previous study using a suite of hepatic enzymatic biomarker in two demersal fish species (Lepidorhombus boscii and Callionymus lyra) indicated exposure of the fish to the hydrocarbons in the oil spilled by the Prestige five months after the accident. The main objective of this follow-up study is to determine whether the same biomarkers in both fish species show any significant variations in responses over the years following the Prestige oil spill. Detoxification and antioxidant enzyme measurements – of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR) and catalase (CAT) – were taken from immature specimens. The results show significant lowering of biomarker activity two and three-years after the oil spill, indicating a decreasing level of exposure of the fish to residual hydrocarbons associated with the spillage (p < 0.01) and a recovery to baseline levels existing before the accident. Overall, spatial biomarker patterns over time are in agreement with the oil slick trajectories and the spatial distribution of tar aggregates found on the bottom shelf after the accident. The results also indicate that the Prestige oil spill had an impact on sublethal responses in fish not only in inshore areas, but also in offshore areas along the middle/outer northern Iberian shelf. In both species, EROD activity was found to be the most discriminating biomarker.