Johnson et at: Fecundity and egg weight in Pleuronectes vetulus 
239 
Age-specific fecundity in thousands of eggs (mean 
and Eagle Harbor. 
Table 3 
± SE) for English sole from Port Susan, Duwamish Waterway, Sinclair Inlet, 
Sampling site 
Fish age (yr) 
Port Susan 
Sinclair Inlet 
Duwamish Waterway 
Eagle Harbor 
5 
351 (1) 

240 ± 12 (2) 
242 ± 11 (3) 
6 
191 ± 29 (8) 
243 ( 1 ) 
223 ± 113 (2) 
331 ± 54 (2) 
7 
215 ± 31 (7) 
368 ± 58 (4) 
406 ± 25 (8) 
277 ± 51 (5) 
8 
218 ± 35 (4) 
271 ± 74(2) 
489 ± 29(10) 
284 ± 16 (2) 
9 
301 ± 60 (4) 
531 (1) 
542 ± 58(2) 
364 ± 59 (4) 
10 
377 (1) 
468 ± 71 (1) 
464 ± 58 (2) 
410 ± 153 (2) 
11 
330 ± 70 (3) 
499 ± 122 (4) 
— 
298 ± 53 (3) 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
— 
1,180 (1) 
901 (1) 
467 ± 49 (2) 
- 
970(1) 
- 
— 
— 
— 
— 
708 (1) 
Tab!e 4 
Mean values (± SE) for length tmm), age, condition factor, hepatoxomatic index (HSI), plasma triglyceride, and plasma glucose 
levels in English sole from four sites in Puget Sound. Plasma triglyceride and glucose concentrations were normalized by log- 
transformation prior to statistical analysis; other variables were already normally distributed. Values with different superscripts 
are significantly different (Fisher’s PLSD multiple range test, P < 0.05). 
Site 
Length (mm) 
Age (yr) 
Condition 
HSI 
Triglycerides 
Glucose 
Port Susan 
314+ 28° 
7.6 ± 0.3° 
0.0083 ± 0.0013 
1.82 ± 0.07° 
74 ± 9 a b 
52 ±9 a 
( 72=29) 
(72 = 28 ) 
(22 = 29) 
(22=18) 
(22 = 18) 
(22=18) 
Sinclair Inlet 
376 ± 37 6 
9.4+ 0.5 6 
0.0088 ± 0.0007 
2.01 ± 0.09°' 6 
101 ± IP 
42 ± 3° 
(71= 19) 
(22=19) 
(22=19) 
(22=15) 
(22=15) 
(22= 15) 
Duwamish 
346 ± 29 r 
7.7 ± 0.3 a 
0.0088 ± 0.0013 
3.06 ± 0.07‘ 
187 ± 17‘ 
53 ± 5° 
( 72 = 2 7 ) 
(22=27) 
(22 = 27) 
(22=17) 
l> 
T— i 
II 
- 
(22=17) 
Eagle Harbor 
350 ± 22 c 
8.8 ± Q.6 6 
0.0091 ± 0.0010 
2.22 ± 0.10' 1 
73 ± 21" 
25 ± 41 h 
(72=25 ) 
( 22 = 25) 
(22 = 25) 
(22 = 15) 
(22=15) 
(22= 15) 
P=0.0001 
P=0.G076 
P=0. 1016 
P=0.0001 
P=0.0001 
P=0.0005 
statistic, P<0.05). At Eagle Harbor, 43% of sampled 
fish exhibited atresia, in comparison with 28%, 21%, 
and 17% of fish at Sinclair Inlet, Port Susan, and 
the Duwamish Waterway, respectively. Atresia sever- 
ity also tended to be greatest at Eagle Harbor (aver- 
age rankings were 1.33 at Eagle Harbor, 1.00 at 
Sinclair Inlet, 0.759 at Port Susan, and 0.542 at the 
Duwamish Waterway), but intersite differences in 
severity were not statistically significant (P=0.2659 
in the nonparametric Kruskall-Wallis test). 
Chemical and nutritional parameters as 
predictors of egg production patterns 
Results of multiple regression analysis examining 
associations of egg weight, fecundity, and relative 
fecundity with biomarkers of contaminant exposure 
and nutritional factors are shown in Table 6 (repro- 
ductive rate was not included in this analysis because 
no significant intersite differences were seen in this 
variable). As noted above, potentially confounding 
biological factors ( i.e. fish length, age, sampling time, 
and GSI in the case of fecundity, and GSI and sam- 
pling time in the case of egg weight; see Table 1 ) were 
incorporated into the regression analyses along with 
bioindicators of exposure in order to adjust for their 
contribution to the observed variation in fecundity 
and egg weight. 
Both fecundity and relative fecundity were found 
to be significantly and positively associated with PCB 
concentrations in liver. Egg weight showed a signifi- 
cant positive association with biliary FAC’s-BaP; the 
relationship with FAC’s-NPH was also positive, but 
not statistically significant. Additionally, a near-sig- 
