Biological Indicators and Mercury Concentrations in Smallmouth Bass

Biological indicators including morphometric (length, weight), age, sex and health indicators including organismal (health assessment index, condition factor), organ (hepatosomatic index, gonadosomatic index), cellular (intersex, parasite density, macrophage aggregate density), subcellular (plasma vitellogenin, estradiol, testosterone, 11-keto testosterone) and molecular (hepatic transcript abundance) were measured in smallmouth bass from tributaries in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Total mercury was measured in these fish and correlations between mercury and biological indicators were assessed.