Effects of Coa Leachates on Fish

Coal leachates were examined for toxic effects on fish spermatogenesis. Nonbreeding rnumrnichogs, Fundulus heterss%itws, were induced to enter breeding condition in the laboratory by exposure to 28°C and a photoperiod of 16b:8D for 6 wk. During this 6-wk period, murnrnichogs were dosed in static exposure tanks with water extracts of coal (leachates). Chi-square analysis and Z test of proportions revealed a significant reduction in sperm production by fish exposed to some, but not all, coal leachates. This reduction was as much as 40-fold and occurred in a dose-dependent manner. Ordinarily, nonbreeding rnummichogs collected immediately after the breeding season will not enter breeding condition in response to 16b: 8D and 20°C. Exposure of these photoinsensitive murnmichogs to coal leachates under long photoperiod conditions for 8 wk resulted in a significant increase in sperm production. Analysis sf weekly sperm production by murnrnichogs from six field populations, either adjacent to or 2 miles upstream from csal-fired power plants, did not reveal significant differences during the breeding season. However, this sperm production was less than 1 /I 0 that of a mumrnichog field population sampled concomitantly at the Chesapeake Bay Institute. The reduced sperm Bevels could not be related to