Physiological endpoints observed in adult largemouth bass in response to an EE2 (17 alpha-ethinylestradiol) or mixture of estrone and atrazine exposure under laboratory pond conditions. Also included are water quality and chemical concentration data. Adult LMB were exposed in outdoor pond mesocosms from post-spawning to early gonad recrudescence to either EE2 (2.4 nanograms per liter), or a mixture of endocrine-active substances commonly detected in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, atrazine (5.4 micrograms per liter) and estrone (47.9 nanograms per liter). Male reproductive condition, sperm count, and sperm motility were assessed.

Largemouth base histological development and transcriptomic changes in gonad tissue after early life stage exposure to Atrazine (1-Chloro-3-ethylamino-5-isopropylamino-2,4,6-triazine) or the model estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol.

Alternative complement pathway assay data observed in adult largemouth bass plasma in response to an EE2 (17alpha-ethinylestradiol) or mixture of estrone and atrazine exposure under laboratory pond conditions, with associated fish identification information.

Physiological and molecular endpoints observed in juvenile largemouth bass in response to an estrogen (17α-ethinylestradiol) and subsequently a bacterial challenge (Edwardsiella piscicida) exposure under laboratory conditions. Also included are water quality and chemical concentration data.

Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year recruitment, in addition to adult mortality, has led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB) population in subwatersheds of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of these stressors, the current study was conducted from 2013-2019 to identify temporal changes associated with SMB reproductive health. Grab surface water samples were collected and analyzed for over 300 organic contaminants, including pesticides, phytoestrogens, pharmaceuticals, hormones and total estrogenicity (E2Eq). Adult SMB were collected and sampled for multiple endpoints, including gene transcripts associated with reproduction (molecular), histopathology (cellular), and organosomatic indices (tissue). In males, biomarkers of estrogenic endocrine disruption, including testicular oocytes (TO) and plasma vitellogenin (Vtg) were assessed. The results identified numerous agriculture-related contaminants or land use associated with gene transcripts in males and females and a positive association of pesticides in the immediate catchment with TO severity and E2Eq with plasma Vtg in males. Prevalence of TO and detectable levels of plasma Vtg, liver vitellogenin transcripts (vtg) and testis vtg were high throughout the study. Peaks of complex mixtures of numerous contaminants occurred during the spring/early summer when early development occurs and to a lesser extent in fall/winter during recrudescence. Management practices to reduce exposure during these critical and sensitive periods may enhance reproductive health of economically important sportfishes.

The data were gathered as a preliminary assessment of estrogenicity under base-flow conditions at over 100 sites (lakes and streams) throughout New Jersey followed by more targeted sampling of smallmouth bass at nine sites with varying levels of estrogenicity. In 2016, 102 sites (lakes and streams) for the preliminary estrogenicity assessment were selected utilizing compiled results of previous monitoring studies (chemical and biological), current sampling networks, and other areas of concern based on input from stakeholders. Discrete grab surface water samples were collected under base-flow conditions in the fall of 2016 and analyzed for levels of estrogenicity using a bioluminescent yeast screen. Water samples for estrogenicity were also collected from the nine health sites in April/May of 2017 in combination with fish sampling and again in November 2017 under base flow conditions. In the spring of 2017, 20 adult smallmouth bass were collected from each of the nine sites (two river and seven reservoir sites). Fish were collected by boat electroshocking, euthanized in the field, weighed, measured, a blood sample collected and a necropsy completed that included documenting any visible abnormalities and collecting tissues for histopathology. Plasma obtained from blood samples was analyzed for vitellogenin, a yolk precursor widely used as an indicator of estrogenic exposure in immature and male fishes. Five to seven sections of testes were processed for microscopic analyses, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at 5 µm, stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The presence of testicular oocytes was noted and the severity rated from 1 to 4 based on number and arrangement of oocytes.

In 2016, smallmouth bass were collected from three sites in the Lake Erie drainage in Erie County, Pennsylvania and an out-of-basin site in the Allegheny River drainage in order to assess reproductive health and identify endocrine disruption responses. Pieces of liver and gonad were taken in Z-Fix and RNALater for histology and transcript abundance analysis. A landscape analysis was conducted for the immediate and upstream catchments with 2016 land cover data. Correlations between biological variables and transcripts were made in addition to differences between sites. The results showed that males had biological variables that correlated with transcripts associated with endocrine disruption and a high rate of testicular oocytes and plasma vitellogenin (biomarkers of estrogenic contaminant exposure).

Adult reproductive data for redbait is based on collections taken by midwater trawling during the spawning season and includes the biological information - size, sex, reproductive condition (weight and stage). Histological examination of mature ovaries provides information on spawing activity and preserved gonads are examined to determine batch fecundity.

These data contain information about sub-lethal effects of cyanobacteria exposure on quagga mussel. Sub-lethal effects of cyanobacteria exposure on quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) sperm were evaluated. After inducing mussels to spawn using serotonin, sperm were collected and exposed to 11 cultures of cyanobacteria including Anabaena flos-aquae, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Dolichospermum lemmermanii, Gloeotrichia echinulata, five cultures of Microcystis aeruginosa, M. wesenbergii, and Planktothrix suspensa. Sperm motility, using endpoints of cumulative distance traveled and mean velocity, was calculated for a minimum of 10 individual sperm using a novel optical biotracking assay method. The distance and velocity at which sperm traveled decreased when exposed to Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and two M. aeruginosa cultures.

This dataset contains a combination of physiological and behavioral approaches for characterizing the response of bighead and silver carp to potentially attractive chemicals associated with sex pheromones identified in common carp. The dataset contains eight tables: 1) EOG responses from untreated and masculinized silver carp to prostaglandins, 2) mixture discrimination indices of the prostaglandins tested with the EOG, 3) relative distribution (percentage) of initial behavioral/attractiveness tests of individual PGF’s to silver carp, 4) release rates of prostaglandin mixtures from PGF2α-implanted bigheaded carps, 5) relative distribution (percentage) of masculinized silver carp to PGF2α-implanted carp odors, 6) relative distribution (percentage) of masculinized silver carp to prostaglandins found in PGF2α-implanted carp odors, 7) supplemental data: initial studies of EOG responses from untreated silver carp to prostaglandins, 8) supplemental data: EOG responses from masculinized and untreated silver carp to prostaglandins.