The white mullet (Mugil curema) as biological indicator to assess environmental stress in tropical coastal lagoons

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 188; no. 12; p. 688
• Main Authors: García-Gasca, Alejandra, Ríos-Sicairos, Julián, Hernández-Cornejo, Rubí, Cunha, Isabel, Gutiérrez, Jesús N., Plascencia-González, Héctor, de la Parra, Luz María García, Abad-Rosales, Selene, Betancourt-Lozano, Miguel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioindicators; Biological effects; Biomarkers - metabolism; Chemical contaminants; Chemical contamination; Chemical pollution; Coastal ecosystems; Contaminants; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Endocrine Disruptors - adverse effects; Environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental stress; Estuaries; Female; Fish; Fishing; Gene expression; Hydrocarbons; Indicator organisms; Lagoons; Liver; Male; Mexico; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Morphology; Mugil curema; Mullet; PCB; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Reproduction - drug effects; Reproductive cycle; Sediments; Smegmamorpha - abnormalities; Smegmamorpha - physiology; Water Pollution, Chemical - adverse effects; Coastal lagoons; Reproduction; Deformities; Vitellogenin expression; Contamination; Mugil curema
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5714-4

Several coastal lagoons and estuaries in Mexico receive untreated domestic and industrial discharges which contain complex mixtures of contaminants. In order to assess the effects of chemical contamination, we used the White mullet ( Mugil curema ) as biological indicator. We worked in two estuaries located in Northwest Mexico: Urias (highly polluted) and Teacapan (less polluted, therefore used as reference site). We measured several endpoints at different levels of biological organization: vitellogenin transcription in males as biomarker of estrogenic contamination, as well as reproductive, morphological (deformities), morphometric, and meristic parameters. Total RNA was isolated from the liver, and a partial sequence of the mullet vitellogenin gene was obtained; gene expression was analyzed by quantitative PCR. At the same time, gonad samples were analyzed by histologic techniques to determine sex ratios and the reproductive cycle stage. The reproductive season was detected from February to June in both sites, but the gonadosomatic index was consistently higher in Teacapan. Sex ratios were female-biased in both estuaries, and one intersex gonad and several malformations were found in fish from Urias. Vitellogenin gene transcription in males was detected in both sites, although gene expression was slightly higher in Urias. The results obtained in this study indicate that biological effects of contamination are evident in fish, environmental estrogens may be present in both estuaries, and the white mullet is useful as biological indicator to identify and characterize environmental stressors in tropical coastal ecosystems.