Damselfish Embryos as a Bioindicator for Military Contamination on Coral Reefs at Johnston Atoll, Pacific Ocean

This study investigated the association between sediment contamination, PCB accumulation in adult nesting males and occurrence of embryonic abnormalities damselfish, Abudefduf sordidus, from two sites with high contamination three “reference” (contaminants very low or not measurable) within Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific Ocean. Developmental were assessed damselfish embryos collected field during four natural spawning seasons (1996, 1998, 1999, 2001). Laboratory incubations abnormal demonstrated that observed lethal. PCBs measured fish years. Mean whole-body concentrations total ranged 364.6 to 138,032.5 ng/g lipid. A significant residue–effect relationship was found concentration embryo abnormalities. The positively related (other contaminants also evaluated including metals dioxins). demonstrates utility using as a bioindicator tool for monitoring coral reefs. It provides baseline-monitoring criteria evaluates quality benchmarks used ecological risk assessments on