Environmental stresses and skeletal deformities in fish from the Willamette River, Oregon.

The Willamette River, one of 14 American Heritage Rivers, flows through the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of Oregon. Previous biological monitoring of the Willamette River detected elevated frequencies of skeletal deformities in fish from certain areas of the lower (Newberg pool [NP], rivermile [RM] 26 - 55) and middle (Wheatland Ferry [WF], RM 72 - 74) river, relative to those in the upper river (Corvallis [CV], RM 125-138). The objective of this study was to determine the likely cause of these skeletal deformities. In 2002 and 2003, deformity loads in Willamette River fishes were 2-3 times greater at the NP and WF locations than at the CV location. There were some differences in water quality parameters between the NP and CV sites, but they did not readily explain the difference in deformity loads. Concentrations of bioavailable metals were below detection limits (0.6 - 1 microg/ L). Concentrations of bioavailable polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides were generally below 0.25 ng/L. Concentrations of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were generally less than 5 ng/L. Concentrations of most persistent organic pollutants were below detection limits in ovary/oocyte tissue samples and sediments, and those that were detected were not significantly different among sites. Bioassay of Willamette River water extracts provided no evidence that unidentified compounds or the complex mixture of compounds present in the extracts could induce skeletal deformities in cyprinid fish. However, metacercariae of a digenean trematode were directly associated with a large percentage of deformities detected in two Willamette River fishes, and similar deformities were reproduced in laboratoryfathead minnows exposed to cercariae extracted from Willamette River snails. Thus, the weight of evidence suggests that parasitic infection, not chemical contaminants, was the primary cause of skeletal deformities observed in Willamette River fish.

Analytical method for dimethenamid-P in selected raw agricultural commodities by gas chromatography with electron capture detection.

A sensitive and simple method for the extraction and quantification of the herbicide dimethenamid-P from several raw agricultural commodities (RAC) is presented. The method provides sensitive and well-defined chromatography with baseline resolution in all matrixes tested. Homogenized samples were extracted with methanol-water, filtered, and then extracted with hexanes. A Florisil solid-phase extraction was then applied for the final cleanup. Sample separation and quantification were performed by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector. The instrument detection limit was 0.007 microg/mL, and the practical quantification limit was 0.003 microg/g (w/w) based on a 25 g sample. Recoveries for a series of fortified plant tissues ranged from 69 to 103%. The study demonstrated selective and sensitive recovery of dimethenamid-P from the RAC tested.