Masters Theses

Date of Award

3-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major Professor

S. Marshall Adams

Committee Members

Jim Breck, Jim Drake, Richard Strange

Abstract

Fish exposed to sub-lethal levels of toxicant-induced stress exhibit physiological and biochemical changes that may result in significant population and community level consequences. Standard metabolic rate integrates the total system response of the organism and thus may provide a good indicator of how well the fish is functioning in its environment. In this study, standard metabolic rate was determined for redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) from two streams: 1) a test stream subject to inputs of various heavy metals, organics, and other toxicants, and 2) a reference stream of similar size and hydrology without industrial or municipal inputs. Fish were tested in their home stream water, in dechlorinated tap water, in test stream water containing suspended contaminated sediment, and in water from a section of the test stream composed primarily of industrial effluent and supporting no resident fish population. No significant difference was noted among any of these test groups with the exception of the group tested in the industrial effluent. This group had significantly reduced standard metabolic rates, probably due to gill damage resulting from exposure to chlorine in the water. These results suggest that standard metabolic rate is not a adequate indicator of the effects of chronic exposure to sublethal stressors.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS