Heavy Metal Accumulation in Marine Fishes in Porirua Harbour
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HEAVY METAL ACCUMULATION IN MARINE FISHES IN PORIRUA HARBOUR A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Marine Biology Liana Cook-Auckram 2019 School of Biological Sciences Victoria University of Wellington 1 Acknowledgments I would firstly like to acknowledge my primary supervisor Nicole Philips and my secondary supervisor Matt Dunn, I could not have asked for more supportive supervisors. Your endless advice and encouragement, together with thorough proof-reading of my thesis has been appreciated. A special thank you to the NIWA scientists, especially Warrick Lyon whom went out of his way to provide advice on rig shark and field techniques. I would also like to acknowledge Darren Stevens and Peter Mcmillan for their expert assistance in flatfish aging and identification. I would also like to extend my gratitude to PhD candidate of the University of Waikato, Helen Cadwallader for her expert advice on stingrays and sending me biopsy tools to collect samples from the lower North Island for her thesis. I would also like to thank the Victoria University Coastal Ecology (VUCEL), especially the tehnicians John Van der Sman and Daniel McNaughtan, who were always eager to provide me with resource and advice on laboratory procedures. I would also like to thank the VUCEL community (primarily Alison Duncan, Andrea Fagetti & Paul Wolf) for being welcoming and providing statistics tutorials. I would also like to thank all my field volunteers, in particular my brother, who helped me collect data in the field. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my research to such a high standard. I am incredibly grateful for the Greater Wellington Regional Council, particularly Dr. Megan Oliver, for their support and by providing the Science and Research Fund grant for my study, and to Turi Hippolite from Ngāti Toa for providing insight into the cultural significance of Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Greg & Leone for providing me with the love, support and encouragement to proceed in my scientific career. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................ 2 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. 3 List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ 7 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... 10 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1: Literature review on heavy metal accumulation in marine fishes .... 13 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 13 Essential and non-essential metals .................................................................................. 13 Uptake routes ................................................................................................................. 15 Metal distribution across tissues ..................................................................................... 16 Gill .............................................................................................................................. 16 Liver ............................................................................................................................ 17 Muscle ........................................................................................................................ 18 Heavy metal interactions ................................................................................................ 20 Metallothionein Protein .................................................................................................. 20 Excretion ......................................................................................................................... 21 Maternal offloading ........................................................................................................ 22 Ecosystem Implications ................................................................................................... 23 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Heavy metal accumulation in marine fishes in Porirua Harbour ...... 25 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 25 Porirua Harbour .............................................................................................................. 26 Heavy metals in Porirua Harbour..................................................................................... 27 Porirua Harbour biodiversity ........................................................................................... 28 Study group 1: Flatfish .................................................................................................... 28 Flatfish in Porirua Harbour .......................................................................................... 29 Heavy metal accumulation in flatfish........................................................................... 30 Study group 2: Elasmobranchs ........................................................................................ 30 Elasmobranchs in Porirua Harbour .............................................................................. 32 Heavy metal accumulation in elasmobranchs .............................................................. 32 Aging flatfish and elasmobranchs .................................................................................... 33 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 34 Study objectives .................................................................................................................. 35 Methods ............................................................................................................................. 37 3 Data Collection................................................................................................................ 37 Sampling from the field ............................................................................................... 37 Fish preparation .......................................................................................................... 37 Fish tagging ................................................................................................................ 38 Dissection protocol ...................................................................................................... 38 Stomach analyses ........................................................................................................ 39 Aging .......................................................................................................................... 39 Maturity ...................................................................................................................... 40 Laboratory Protocol ........................................................................................................ 43 Tissue preparation ....................................................................................................... 43 Heavy metal analysis ................................................................................................... 43 Moisture content ......................................................................................................... 44 Sediment concentrations ................................................................................................ 44 Statistical analyses .......................................................................................................... 45 Results ................................................................................................................................ 47 Biological characteristics ................................................................................................. 47 Size composition .......................................................................................................... 47 Length- weight relationships ....................................................................................... 47 Age ............................................................................................................................. 48 Sex and Maturation ..................................................................................................... 48 Diet Composition ......................................................................................................... 50 Parasites and lesions ................................................................................................... 52 Fish tagging ................................................................................................................ 52 Heavy metal concentrations in flatfish ............................................................................ 52 Copper (Cu) ................................................................................................................