Sexual difference in PCB concentrations of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

Science of the Total Environment
By: , and 

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Abstract

We determined polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in 35 female coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and 60 male coho salmon caught in Lake Michigan (Michigan and Wisconsin, United States) during the fall of 1994 and 1995. In addition, we determined PCB concentrations in the skin-on fillets of 26 female and 19 male Lake Michigan coho salmon caught during the fall of 2004 and 2006. All coho salmon were age-2 fish. These fish were caught prior to spawning, and therefore release of eggs could not account for sexual differences in PCB concentrations because female coho salmon spawn only once during their lifetime. To investigate whether gross growth efficiency (GGE) differed between the sexes, we applied bioenergetics modeling. Results showed that, on average, males were 19% higher in PCB concentration than females, based on the 1994–1995 dataset. Similarly, males averaged a 20% higher PCB concentration in their skin-on fillets compared with females. According to the bioenergetics modeling results, GGE of adult females was less than 1% higher than adult male GGE. Thus, bioenergetics modeling could not explain the 20% higher PCB concentration exhibited by the males. Nonetheless, a sexual difference in GGE remained a plausible explanation for the sexual difference in PCB concentrations.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Sexual difference in PCB concentrations of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)
Series title Science of the Total Environment
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.12.023
Volume 408
Issue 7
Year Published 2010
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Publisher location Amsterdam, Netherlands
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Description 6 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Science of the Total Environment
First page 1719
Last page 1724
Other Geospatial Lake Michigan
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