The use of Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) as a bioindicator species for studies on effects of dumped chemical warfare agents in the Skagerrak. 1: Liver histopathology

• Published in: Marine environmental research Vol. 161; p. 105046
• Main Authors: Straumer, K., Kraugerud, M., Feist, S.W., Ahvo, A., Lehtonen, K., Lastumäki, A., Ljønes, M., Tørnes, J. Aa, Lang, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Bioindicators; Biomonitoring; Chemical warfare; Chemical warfare agents; Chemical warfare agents (CWA); Dumped munitions; Fish; Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa); Hazardous wastes; Histopathology; Indicator organisms; Indicator species; Lesions; Liver; Liver histopathology; Marine fishes; Military supplies; Myxine glutinosa; Skagerrak; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Wrecks; North Sea; Liver histopathology; Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa); Biomonitoring; Dumped munitions; Chemical warfare agents (CWA); Hazardous wastes; Skagerrak
• ISSN: 0141-1136; 1879-0291
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105046

Within the framework of the international project DAIMON (Decision Aid for Marine Munitions), the impact of dumped chemical munitions on fish health was investigated. The Skagerrak Straight (North Sea, at 600 m depth) contains munitions with chemical warfare agents (CWA), scuttled after the end of World War II. Studies of liver histopathology in Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) were carried out at three sampling sites: at a wreck with CWA in the Skagerrak (n = 82), a Skagerrak reference site considered to be free of CWA (n = 14) and at a reference site in the northern North Sea outside the Skagerrak (n = 17). Liver lesions were diagnosed and categorized according to standardized ICES and BEQUALM protocols and OSPAR guidelines. Non-specific liver lesions were found in 87.6% of 113 hagfish examined. The prevalence of pre-neoplastic lesions was 7.1% and of neoplastic lesions 6.2%. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence between hagfish samples from the wreck site and from the reference site near the wrecks. However, at the reference site in the northern North Sea, the prevalence of non-specific lesions was low and neither pre-neoplastic nor neoplastic lesions were observed. •Highest prevalence of pre-neoplastic and neoplastic liver lesions were shown at CWA wreck site in Skagerrak.•Most non-specific liver lesions in hagfish were found at the CWA contaminated site in Skagerrak.•Neither pre-neoplastic nor neoplastic liver lesions were found in hagfish from North Sea reference site.