Immune, Reproductive and Histologic Biomarker Evaluation in Fish Collected for the Columbia and Rio Grande River Basin BEST Program, 1997

This study is part of a larger project entitled "Contaminants and Biomarkers in
Fish in the Columbia River and Rio Grande Basins, 1997" ( Mid-Continent
Ecological Science Center) This project is part of the Biomonitoring of
Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program. The BEST program incorporates
both analytical chemistry arid a suite of biological responses to describe and
track contaminant exposure and effects. Our part of this program is to measure
and evaluate selected histologic, immunological and reproductive biomarkers.
Our objectives are: to document the presence of selected histologic lesions
which have been validated or widely accepted as indicators of contaminant
exposure; to determine if there is evidence of immunosuppression using immune
system biomarkers; evaluate gonad histology utilizing new potential biomarkers;
determine if changes in gonad histology correlate with circulating vitellogenin
levels; determine if these findings correlate with contaminant presence or
concentration. Information was obtained from http://www.lsc.usgs.gov