Effects of maternally transferred organochlorine contaminants on early life survival in a freshwater fish

Laboratory research has shown that female fish can pass toxic organochlorines (OCs) from their bodies to their eggs, killing their offspring if sufficient quantities are transferred. We conducted a controlled incubation study using gametes from a wild, OC‐contaminated walleye (Sander vitreus) population (Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, Canada) in order to assess among‐female variation in offspring early life survival in relation to ova concentrations of planar OCs (polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and furans and planar polychlorinated biphenyls) and a suite of other maternal and ova characteristics. Equal volumes of ova from each female were fertilized, pooled, and incubated together as an experimental cohort. Relative survival of each female's offspring was estimated as the proportion of surviving larvae (at ∼5 d posthatch) that she contributed to the cohort as determined by microsatellite DNA parentage assignment. Total planar OC concentration (expressed as toxic equivalency of 2,3,7,8‐tetrachloro‐dibenzo‐p‐dioxin) of ova was positively related to maternal age and size and to ova lipid content. However, early life survival did not decline with increasing ova planar OC concentrations. Similarly, we observed no significant relationships between early life survival and ova thiamine content, ova fatty acid composition, or maternal age or size. Early life survival was more strongly correlated with date of spawn collection, thyroid hormone status of the ova, and ovum size. Maternally transferred planar OCs do not appear to negatively influence female reproductive success in this walleye population.