231 
Fecundity and egg weight in 
English sole, Pleuronectes vetulus, 
from Puget Sound, Washington: 
influence of nutritional status and 
chemical contaminants 
Lyndal L. Johnson 
Sean Y. Sol 
Daniel R Lomax 
Gregory M. Nelson 
Catherine A. Sloan 
Edmundo Casillas 
Environmental Conservation Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center 
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 
2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, Washington 98112 
E-mail address: Lyndal.L.Johnson@noaa.gov 
Abstract .—Differences in fecundity 
and egg weight were evaluated in En- 
glish sole, Pleuronectes vetulus, from 
four sites in Puget Sound (the Duwamish 
Waterway, Eagle Harbor, Sinclair Inlet, 
and Port Susan) with differing concen- 
trations and types of sediment contami- 
nation. Duwamish Waterway sediment 
has high concentrations of both poly- 
chlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) and poly- 
cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), 
Eagle Harbor sediment has high con- 
centrations of PAH’s, and Sinclair In- 
let sediment has low concentrations of 
PAH’s and moderate concentrations of 
PCB’s, whereas sediments at Port Su- 
san, the reference site, are minimally 
contaminated. Fish from the Duwa- 
mish Waterway and Eagle Harbor had 
significantly higher levels of fluorescent 
aromatic compounds (FAC’s) in bile 
than sole from Port Susan and Sinclair 
Inlet, and fish from the Duwamish 
Waterway had significantly higher con- 
centrations of PCB’s in ovary and liver 
tissue than fish from the other sam- 
pling sites. Fecundity and egg weight 
were compared in fish of equivalent 
size, age, and reproductive maturity 
from the four sites; fish from the 
Duwamish Waterway showed signifi- 
cantly higher relative fecundity and 
lower egg weight than fish collected 
from the three other sites. Production 
of more and smaller eggs in fish from 
the Duwamish Waterway site was as- 
sociated with elevated hepatosomatic 
indices, elevated plasma triglyceride 
levels, and elevated levels of PCB’s in 
liver and ovarian tissue, and reduced 
plasma vitellogenin levels (as esti- 
mated from alkali-labile protein (ALP) 
concentrations). Fish from the Duwa- 
mish Waterway and Sinclair Inlet also 
had higher age-specific fecundity than 
animals from other sites because of 
their larger size at age. On an indi- 
vidual fish basis, elevated tissue PCB 
concentrations were significantly cor- 
related with low plasma ALP, reduced 
egg weight, and increased egg number, 
whereas elevated biliary FAC’s were 
associated with increased ovarian atre- 
sia, increased egg weight, and reduced 
egg number. The results of this study 
suggest that English sole exposed to 
chemical contaminants may experience 
alterations in egg development; how- 
ever, nutritional or other environmen- 
tal factors may also contribute to the 
observed intersite differences in egg 
weight and fecundity. 
Manuscript accepted 4 November 1996. 
Fishery Bulletin 95:231-249 (1997). 
Reproductive impairment is poten- 
tially one of the most damaging ef- 
fects of aquatic pollution on marine 
fish and shellfish because of its im- 
pact on population growth and con- 
sequently on the abundance of ma- 
rine resources (Hose and Guillette, 
1995; Grosse et ah, in press). Envi- 
ronmental contaminants exert their 
effects on reproductive function 
through a variety of mechanisms; 
they may have direct toxic effects 
on germ-cell tissue or may disrupt 
the endocrine mechanisms that 
regulate reproduction and early de- 
velopment, causing inhibited or ab- 
normal gonadal development or re- 
duced fertility (Donaldson, 1990; 
Colburn et ah, 1993; Kime, 1995). 
Sediments from several areas of 
Puget Sound, Washington, are pol- 
luted with xenobiotic compounds 
such as polychlorinated biphenyls 
(PCB’s), and polycyclic aromatic 
hydrocarbons (PAH’s) (Malins et al., 
1984, 1985; PSWQA 1 ). These com- 
pounds are known or suspected dis- 
rupters of endocrine function (Col- 
burn et ah, 1993) and, as such, pose 
a potential threat to the reproduc- 
tive health of marine fish that re- 
side in these areas. In previous 
studies, we examined the effects of 
these contaminants on several as- 
pects of reproductive function in 
English sole, Pleuronectes vetulus , 
a commercially important bottom- 
fish species that is widely distrib- 
uted in Puget Sound (Johnson et ah, 
1988, 1993; Casillas et al., 1991; 
Collier et ah, 1992). These investi- 
gations revealed that sole from two 
heavily polluted sites, Eagle Harbor 
and the Duwamish Waterway, ex- 
hibited various types of reproduc- 
tive dysfunction, including inhib- 
ited gonadal development (Johnson 
et ah, 1988), depressed plasma es- 
tradiol levels and reduced ovarian 
estradiol production in vitro (John- 
son et ah, 1988, 1993), and reduced 
spawning success (Casillas et ah, 
1991). In contrast, fish from Port 
Susan and Sinclair Inlet, two sites 
1 PSWQA (Puget Sound Water Quality Au- 
thority). 1994. Puget Sound update: fifth 
annual report of the Puget Sound ambient 
monitoring program. Puget Sound Water 
Quality Authority, Seattle, WA, 122 p. 
