Biomarker responses in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) exposed to produced water from a North Sea oil field: Laboratory and field assessments

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 144 - 152
• Main Authors: Sundt, Rolf C., Ruus, Anders, Jonsson, Henrik, Skarphéðinsdóttir, Halldóra, Meier, Sonnich, Grung, Merete, Beyer, Jonny, Pampanin, Daniela M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2012
• Subjects: agonists; Alkylphenol; Animals; Atlantic cod; bile; Bile - metabolism; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - metabolism; cod (fish); Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 - metabolism; DNA; DNA Adducts - metabolism; Environmental Monitoring; Extraction and Processing Industry; field experimentation; Gadus morhua; Gadus morhua - metabolism; Industrial Waste - adverse effects; Liver - metabolism; Marine; metabolites; North Sea; oil fields; Oil pollution; PAHs; Petroleum - analysis; Petroleum - metabolism; Petroleum - toxicity; Phenols - toxicity; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - metabolism; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - toxicity; Produced water; Seawater - chemistry; vitellogenin; Vitellogenins - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; water pollution; ANE, North Sea; Biomarkers; PAHs; Atlantic cod; Produced water; Oil pollution; Alkylphenol
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.10.005

► Lab: bile metabolites were sensitive tools to detect produced water exposure. ► Lab: hepatic CYP1A and DNA adducts were dose-dependently induced. ► Field: bile metabolites increased in fish caged close to produced water outfall. ► Field: hepatic CYP1A increased in fish caged close to produced water outfall. ► Assessed parameters are valuable for produced water related biomonitoring studies.
Biological markers of produced water (PW) exposure were studied in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in both laboratory and field experiments, using authentic PW from a North Sea oil field. In the laboratory study, the PW exposure yielded significantly elevated levels of metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylphenols (APs) in bile even at the lowest exposure dose (0.125% PW). Other biomarkers (hepatic CYP1A induction and DNA adduct formation) responded at 0.25% and 0.5% PW concentrations. In the field study, bile metabolite markers and hepatic CYP1A were clearly increased in fish caged close to the PW outfall. Induction of plasma vitellogenin was not found in laboratory or field exposures, suggesting that the levels of oestrogen agonists (such as APs) might not have been sufficient to elicit induction, under the present conditions. The applicability of the biomarkers for use in water column biomonitoring programs is discussed.