Impact of Environment and Ontogeny on Relative Fecundity and Egg Quality of Female Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from Four Sites in Northern Chesapeake Bay.

Resource allocation to reproduction is a primary physiological concern for individuals, and can vary with age, environment, or a combination of both factors. In this study we quantified the impact of environment and individual age on the reproductive output of female oysters Crassostrea virginica. We determined the relative fecundity, egg total lipid content, and overall and omega-3/omega-6 (ω3/ω6) fatty acid signatures (FAS) of eggs spawned by female oysters over a 2-year period (n = 32 and n = 64). Variation was quantified spatially and ontogenetically by sampling young and old oyster populations from two rivers in Chesapeake Bay, totaling four collection sites. During Year 1, when oysters underwent oogenesis in different locations, overall and ω3/ω6 egg FAS varied significantly by river, with no significant differences observed in the FAS of oysters by age in Year 1. In Year 2, when oysters from different sites underwent oogenesis in a single location, no significant differences in the overall egg FAS or ω3/ω6 egg FAS by river or age were observed. These findings suggest that oysters integrate environment into their reproductive output, but that time spent growing at a specific location (in this case, represented by oyster age) plays a relatively minor role in the biochemical composition of oyster eggs. These results have consequences for our understanding of how resources are allocated from the female oyster to eggs and, more generally, the impact of environment and ontogeny on reproductive physiology.

Environmental factors affecting the levels of legacy pesticides in the airshed of Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, USA.

Organochlorine insecticides and their degradation products contribute to toxicity in Chesapeake Bay, USA, sediments and affect the reproductive health of avian species in the region; however, little is known of atmospheric sources or temporal trends in concentrations of these chemicals. Weekly air (n = 265) and daily rain samples (n = 494) were collected over 2000 to 2003 from three locations in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Pesticides were consistently present in the gas phase with infrequent detection in the particle phase. Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and cis- and trans-chlordane were detected most frequently (95-100%), and cis- and trans-nonachlor, oxychlordane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, and 1-chloro-4-[2,2-dichloro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]benzene (4,4'-DDE) were also detected frequently. The highest mean air concentrations were for dieldrin (60-84 pg/m(3)), gamma-HCH (37-83 pg/m(3)), and 4,4'-DDE (16-80 pg/m(3)). Multiple regression analyses of air concentrations with temperature and wind conditions using modified Clausius-Clapeyron equations explained only 30 to 60% of the variability in concentration for most chemicals. Comparison of the air concentrations and enthalpy of air-surface exchange values at the three sites indicate sources of chlordanes and alpha-HCH sources are primarily from long-range transport. However, examination of chlordane isomer ratios indicates some local and regional contributions, and gamma-HCH, 4,4'-DDE, dieldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, and oxychlordane also have local or regional sources, possibly from contaminated soils. Median rain sample volumes of 1 to 3 L led to infrequent detections in rain; however, average measured concentrations were 2 to 10 times higher than in the Great Lakes. Dissipation half-lives in air were well below 10 years for all chemicals and below published values for the Great Lakes except dieldrin, which did not decline during the sample period.