Bioindicators of contaminant exposure, liver pathology, and reproductive development in prespawning female winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) from urban and nonurban estuaries on the northeast Atlantic coast

"Winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus, formerly Pseudopleuronectes americanus) is an important commercial and recreational species on the Northeast coast In recent years, however, them has been evidence of a decline in landings of winter flounder in the nearshore portion of its range (Witherell et al. 1990, Childs 1987, Smith 1989). Several factors may contribute to the apparent drop in winter flounder populations, including fishing pressure, variations in water temperature that could influence larval survival (Buckley et al. 1990, Jeffries and Terceira 1985, Rogers 1976), changes in food supply (Laurence 1977), predation on larvae (Pearcy 1962), and destruction of larval habitat through dredging or other forms of disturbance (Monooch 1988, NOAA 1990). Additionally, because winter flounder often reside in highly contaminated urban estuaries, them has been concern that exposure to andropogenic compounds, which may cause diseases or reproductive impairment, could be at least partially responsible for the decline in landings of this fish"--Introduction. Lyndal L. Johnson, John E. Stein, Tracy K. Collier, Edmundo Casillas, Bruce McCain, and Usha Varanasi. "August 1992." Also available online in PDF via the NOAA Central Library. Includes bibliographical references (pages 30-42). 1992 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) NWFSC (Northwest Fisheries Science Center) Library Public Domain 1864