Reproductive toxicity of 1-nitronaphthalene and 1-nitropyrene exposure in the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus

After pregnant mummichog were implanted with 1-nitronaphthalene or 1-nitropyrene via cholesterol pellet, we investigated the effects of the chemicals on embryo normality, hatchability and days to hatch of normal embryos, and growth and survival of hatched larvae from normal embryos of the implanted mummichog. Hatchability was the parameter most sensitive to the effects of both 1-nitronaphthalene and 1-nitropyrene. The 4-week lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOEC) of 1-nitronaphthalene, based on the actual concentrations in the eggs in the test, was 447 ng g(-1) wet wt.; and the LOEC and no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) of 1-nitropyrene were 958 and 344 ng g(-1) wet wt., respectively. The 4-week LOEC of 1-nitronaphthalene, based on the concentration in the water, was estimated at 4.8 µg L(-1) by using the reported bioconcentration factor; and the LOEC and NOEC of 1-nitropyrene, based on the concentration in the water, were estimated at 3.1 and 8.6 µg L(-1), respectively. The reported environmental concentrations of 1-nitropyrene and 1-nitronaphthalene are over three magnitudes lower than the toxicity values we obtained. Therefore, the effects of environmental levels of 1-nitropyrene and 1-nitronaphthalene on fish reproduction, not including genomic effects on embryos, appear to be almost negligible. However, DNA damage has been detected in marine organisms exposed to 1-nitropyrene. Further studies of the genotoxicity of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at environmental levels are therefore needed to evaluate their ecotoxicological risks.