Perspective on Ecotoxicology of PAHs to Fish

This article provides a perspective on recent research on the effects of PAHs on fish. Fish are visible members of aquatic communities that are vulnerable to PAH contamination. The ecotoxicology of fish and PAHs can be complex. Fish are a diverse group that can have complicated life cycles and behavior and can be exposed to PAH-contaminated sediments and water by a variety of routes, including respiration; ingestion of food, sediment, and detritus; and dermal absorption. PAHs are a complex group of chemicals with similar chemical structure but a variety of chemical and physical attributes and are usually produced and occur in the environment as mixtures. Individual PAHs may elicit a variety of effects in different fish species, and different PAHs may elicit different effects in any single fish species. The variation in both fish and PAHs is reflected in the wide range of adverse effects observed in fish exposed to PAHs. Some observed effects include narcosis, mortality in all life stages, decrease in growth, lower condition factor, edema, cardiac dysfunction, a variety of deformities, lesions and tumors of the skin and liver, cataracts, damage to immune systems and compromised immunity, estrogenic effects, bioaccumulation, bioconcentration, trophic transfer, and biochemical changes, some of which can be used as biomarkers.