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Effects of Environmentally Relevant Residual Levels of Diluted Bitumen on Wild Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas)

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Abstract

Transportation of crude oil across North America’s boreal ecozone creates the potential for spills in freshwater where less is known about the sensitivity of resident fish than for marine systems. The sensitivity of wild fathead minnows (FHM) to residual concentrations (ppb range) of the water accommodated fraction (WAF) of diluted bitumen (dilbit) was assessed by exposing them for 21 days followed by a 14 days depuration. Target concentrations were well below detection limits for GC–MS, but were estimated by dilution factor (1:100,000 and 1:1,000,000 WAF:water) to contain less than 0.0003 μg/L of polycyclic aromatic compounds. Confinement and handling stress caused by transfer of wild fish into tanks much smaller than their natural range resulted in mortality and lower body condition among all groups, but interactive effects of oil exposures still resulted in females with smaller cortical alveolar oocytes, and males with larger testicular lobe lumen sizes. Additional studies examining the compounded effects of stress and environmentally relevant oil exposures in wild fishes are needed.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this study was provided by an NSERC grant (STPGP 493786-16) awarded to J. Blais, M. Hanson and D. Orihel and also by the National Contaminants Advisory Group (NCAG) of the DFO to VSL and VPP. Preparation of WAF at NRCan was funded by the Government of Canada Oceans Protection Plan. Funding was also provided by the IISD-ELA Graduate Fellowship and the Manitoba Graduate Scholarship, both awarded to LT. VSL holds a Canada Research Chair in Ecotoxicogenomics and Endocrine Disruption. Particular thanks to C. Rodgers, J. Neall, K. Friesen, L. Hayhurst, L. Hrenchuk, P. Bulloch, and S. Michaleski for their assistance in construction of the experimental set up, caring for the minnows, and completing dissections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Lauren Timlick & Lisa E. Peters

  2. International Institute for Sustainable Development - Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA), 325-111 Lombard Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 0T4, Canada

    Lauren Timlick & Vince Palace

  3. Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Quebec City, QC, Canada

    Sarah J. Wallace & Valerie S. Langlois

  4. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Devon, AB, Canada

    Heather Dettman

  5. Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    R. Stephen Brown & Johanna Mason

Authors
  1. Lauren Timlick
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  2. Lisa E. Peters
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  3. Sarah J. Wallace
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  4. Heather Dettman
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  5. R. Stephen Brown
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  6. Johanna Mason
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  7. Valerie S. Langlois
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  8. Vince Palace
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the execution of the study. Study conception and design were led by VP. Material preparation, data collection and the majority of analyses were completed by LT. Additional analyses were completed by LEP, SJW, HD and JM. Laboratory space, equipment and consumables for analysis were provided by RSB and VSL. The first draft of this manuscript was written by LT. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vince Palace.

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The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest affecting the integrity of this work.

Research Involving Animal Rights

Study design and care regime for animals was approved under University of Manitoba Animal User Protocol #F17-010.

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Timlick, L., Peters, L.E., Wallace, S.J. et al. Effects of Environmentally Relevant Residual Levels of Diluted Bitumen on Wild Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 105, 699–704 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-03008-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-03008-3

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