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Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

  1. Daniel Esler1,*,
  2. Kimberly A. Trust2,
  3. Brenda E. Ballachey3,
  4. Samuel A. Iverson1,
  5. Tyler L. Lewis1,3,
  6. Daniel J. Rizzolo3,
  7. Daniel M. Mulcahy3,
  8. A. Keith Miles4,
  9. Bruce R. Woodin5,
  10. John J. Stegeman5,
  11. John D. Henderson6,
  12. Barry W. Wilson6

Article first published online: 21 JAN 2010

DOI: 10.1002/etc.129

Issue

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Volume 29, Issue 5, pages 1138–1145, May 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Esler, D., Trust, K. A., Ballachey, B. E., Iverson, S. A., Lewis, T. L., Rizzolo, D. J., Mulcahy, D. M., Miles, A. K., Woodin, B. R., Stegeman, J. J., Henderson, J. D. and Wilson, B. W. (2010), Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 29: 1138–1145. doi: 10.1002/etc.129

Author Information

  1. 1

    Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Simon Fraser University, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, British Columbia, V4K 3N2 Canada

  2. 2

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503

  3. 3

    U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508

  4. 4

    U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Davis Field Station, 1 Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616

  5. 5

    Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA

  6. 6

    Animal Sciences and Environmental Toxicology, 1 Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA

*Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Simon Fraser University, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, British Columbia, V4K 3N2 Canada.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 APR 2010
  2. Article first published online: 21 JAN 2010
  3. Accepted manuscript online: 21 JAN 2010 12:00AM EST
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 18 DEC 2009
  5. Manuscript Revised: 13 NOV 2009
  6. Manuscript Received: 13 OCT 2009

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Keywords:

  • Exxon Valdez;
  • Harlequin duck;
  • Oil exposure

Abstract

Hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression was measured, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in livers of wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in areas of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and in birds from nearby unoiled areas, during 2005 to 2009 (up to 20 years following the spill). The present work repeated studies conducted in 1998 that demonstrated that in harlequin ducks using areas that received Exxon Valdez oil, EROD activity was elevated nearly a decade after the spill. The present findings strongly supported the conclusion that average levels of hepatic EROD activity were higher in ducks from oiled areas than those from unoiled areas during 2005 to 2009. This result was consistent across four sampling periods; furthermore, results generated from two independent laboratories using paired liver samples from one of the sampling periods were similar. The EROD activity did not vary in relation to age, sex, or body mass of individuals, nor did it vary strongly by season in birds collected early and late in the winter of 2006 to 2007, indicating that these factors did not confound inferences about observed differences between oiled and unoiled areas. We interpret these results to indicate that harlequin ducks continued to be exposed to residual Exxon Valdez oil up to 20 years after the original spill. This adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that oil spills have the potential to affect wildlife for much longer time frames than previously assumed. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:1138–1145. © 2010 SETAC

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