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P. C. Baumann

Publications and source records attributed to P. C. Baumann.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2006

DNA damage and external lesions in brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) from contaminated habitats

The Comet assay was used to compare levels of DNA damage in brown bullheads ( Ameiurus nebulosus ) collected from three known contaminated locations, the Cuyahoga River (OH, USA), Ashtabula River (OH, USA; both tributaries to Lake Erie, USA), and Ashumet Pond (Cape Cod, MA, USA), with brown bullheads collected from three paired reference sites, Old Woman Creek (OH, USA), Conneaut River (OH, USA; both tributaries to Lake Erie), and Great Herring Pond (mainland MA, USA), respectively. Blood was sampled from each fish, and the Comet assay was conducted on erythrocytes. The assay results demonstrate that fish from the three contaminated sites each suffered higher DNA damage compared with fish from their respective reference sites. The results also show that the genetic damage was associated with the occurrence of external lesions and deformities in fish. The Comet assay is sufficiently sensitive to detect exposure of natural fish populations to environmental levels of genotoxic contaminants.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2006

Biliary PAH metabolites and the hepatosomatic index of brown bullheads from Lake Erie tributaries

In studies designed to investigate the environmental exposure of fish in Lake Erie tributaries, a benthic fish, the brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus), was collected from the industrially contaminated Detroit River, Ottawa River, Black River, Cuyahoga River-harbor and -upstream, Ashtabula River, Buffalo River, and Niagara River, and the non-industrialized Old Woman Creek during 1997-2000. Biliary benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)- and naphthalene (NAPH)-type metabolites and the hepatosomatic index (HSI) were measured in fish and compared between different sites. Fish from all of the contaminated sites except Niagara River had significantly higher concentrations of both types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites than fish from the Old Woman Creek. Concentrations of PAH metabolites in bile of fish were positively associated with concentrations of PAHs in sediments, supporting the use of bile metabolites as a measure of PAH exposure. Relatively low concentrations of PAHs detected in fish bile and sediments of the Niagara River, which had undergone extensive remediation, suggested a lowered PAH exposure for fish at this site. No apparent trend was observed in HSI between the industrialized and non-industrialized sites. This study demonstrates that biliary PAH metabolites are an effective indicator of exposure of fish to PAHs. However, because factors other than contamination could also affect the liver size of wild fish, HSI alone may be not a reliable biomarker for assessing contaminant stress. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecological Indicators↗
USGS2006

Fish health study Ashtabula River natural resource damage assessment

INTRODUCTION The Ashtabula River is located in northeast Ohio, flowing into Lake Erie at Ashtabula, Ohio. Tributaries include Fields Brook, Hubbard Run, Strong Brook, and Ashtabula Creek. The bottom sediments, bank soils and biota of Fields Brook have been severely contaminated by unregulated discharges of hazardous substances. Hazardous substances have migrated downstream from Fields Brook to the Ashtabula River and Harbor, contaminating bottom sediments, fish and wildlife. There are presently more than 1,000,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment in the Ashtabula River and Harbor, much of which originated from Fields Brook. Contaminants include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated benzenes, chlorinated ethenes, hexachlorobutadiene, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), other organic chemicals, heavy metals and low level radionuclides. A Preassessment Screen, using existing data, was completed for the Ashtabula River and Harbor on May 18, 2001. Among the findings was that the fish community at Ashtabula contained approximately 45 percent fewer species and 52 percent fewer individuals than the Ohio EPA designated reference area, Conneaut Creek. The Ashtabula River and Conneaut Creek are similar in many respects, with the exception of the presence of contamination at Ashtabula. The difference in the fish communities between the two sites is believed to be at least partially a result of the hazardous substance contamination at Ashtabula. In order to investigate this matter further, the Trustees elected to conduct a study of the status and health of the aquatic biological communities of the Ashtabula River and Conneaut Creek in 2002-2004. The following document contains brief method descriptions (more detail available in attached Appendix A) and a summary of the data used to evaluate the health status of brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) collected from the above sites.

Ohio↗
USGS2003

Fish biliary PAH metabolites estimated by fixed-wavelength fluorescence as an indicator of environmental exposure and effects

Biliary polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites have been studied since the mid 1980s as an indicator of exposure of fish to PAHs. However, the measurements of PAH metabolites are often costly and time-consuming. A simple and rapid method, fixed-wavelength fluorescence (FF), was used to measure the concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P)-type and naphthalene (NAPH)-type PAH metabolites in the bile of brown bullheads ( Ameiurus nebulosus ) collected from Old Woman Creek, Ottawa River, Cuyahoga River-harbor and Cuyahoga River-upstream. The biliary PAH metabolites in fish from the less contaminated Old Woman Creek were significantly lower than those from the industrially contaminated Ottawa and Cuyahoga rivers. The levels of biliary PAH metabolites were found to be related to the PAH sediment contamination for the four sites except Cuyahoga River-upstream, and to the prevalence of fish barbel abnormalities and external raised lesions observed in all rivers except Ottawa. Statistical analysis revealed a significant association between the occurrence of barbel abnormalities and concentrations of biliary NAPH-type metabolites and between the occurrence of raised lesions and concentrations of B[a]P-type metabolites. This study provides added evidence that FF is an effective bile analysis method for determining the exposure of fish to PAHs. This study also indicates that the measurement of PAH metabolites could help establish causal relationship between the chemical exposure and effects such as barbel abnormalities and raised lesions.

Journal of Great Lakes Research↗
USGS2000

Cancer

No abstract available at this time

Book chapter↗
USGS1998

Epizootics of cancer in fish associated with genotoxins sediment and water

Neoplasm epizootics in fish from a wide variety of freshwater, marine, and estuarine locations have been associated with genotoxins in sediment or water. The majority of cases have involved benthic or bottom feeding fish living in habitats with sediment contaminated by PAHs. The most common lesions involved in such epizootics include liver neoplasms, both biliary and hepatic, and skin neoplasms. Laboratory research has demonstrated the ability of fish to metabolize carcinogenic PAHs such as B( a )P into the ultimate carcinogen with the resulting formation of DNA adducts. Fish dosed with B( a )P or sediment extracts containing carcinogenic PAHs have developed skin and liver neoplasms. In the Black River, OH, neoplasm prevalence in wild brown bullhead has reflected PAH exposure as the latter has changed due to coke plant closures and remedial dredging activity. The weight of evidence supports a cause-and-effect relationship between exposure to genotoxins in sediment and water and neoplasm epizootics in wild fish populations.

Mutation Research↗
USGS1998

Long term trends liver neoplasm epizootics of brown bullhead in the Black River, Ohio

Since 1980, liver neoplasms in brown bullhead and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in sediment have been researched in a series of studies on the Black River in Lorain, Ohio. In the early 1980s the liver cancer prevalence in fish of age 3 and older was high, ranging from 22% to 39% of the adult population. These high cancer rates corresponded to high levels of PAHs in the sediment resulting from long-term releases by an upstream coking facility (USX). In 1983 this coking plant was closed, and by 1987 the PAH in sediment had declined by about two orders of magnitude. Coincidentally the tumor prevalence in 1987 was only about one-fourth of that in the early 1980s. In 1990, the most contaminated sediments were dredged. Neoplasm surveys in 1992 and 1993 found liver tumor frequencies in mature bullhead were as high as or higher than in the early 1980s. However liver tumor incidence declined in 1994, especially among age 3 fish, where neoplasm incidence was zero. These age 3 fish were the first group sampled that were not present during the 1990 dredging. These data are consistent with a hypothesis that the increase in tumor prevalence in 1992 and 1993 was caused by exposure to buried PAH-contaminated sediments released by the dredging. This research points out the insight provided by long term effects studies.

Ohio↗