Trace metals in eggs of winter flounder from Boston Harbor, a contaminated North American estuary

Abstract

In 1987, the effects of contaminant levels in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts on the reproductive success of winter flounder were studied. As part of the study, the concentrations of 15 trace metals in laboratory-spawned eggs from adult winter flounder, taken from two stations in Boston Harbor, were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Trace metal concentrations in the eggs were low. There were no statistically significant differences between the two stations in the concentrations of any trace metal in the eggs. However, two fish captured from the Deer Island station had concentrations of cadmium in their eggs that were the highest reported for a flounder species to date. The concentrations of trace metals in eggs of winter flounder from Boston Harbor were similar to eggs of flounder species from other estuaries that exhibited different levels of habitat contamination. This suggests that differences in habitat contamination are not necessarily reflected in metal concentrations in laboratory spawned eggs.