Prevalence of Liver Lesions in Brown Bullheads from a Polluted Site and a Nonpolluted Reference Site on the Hudson River, New York

Abstract Two groups of Hudson River brown bullheads Ictalurus nebulosus were collected during fall 1987 in a preliminary investigation of the potential value of these fish as indicators of contamination of this body of water. Prevalence of some specific lesions, determined through histological examination of liver samples, may serve as an indicator of exposure to chemical contaminants. Significantly higher prevalences of hepatic hemosiderosis (P = 0.0092), periductal fibrosis (P = 0.0085), and duct and ductule proliferation (P = 0.0032) were found in fish collected from the contaminated site (Fort Edward, New York) than in fish from the noncontaminated reference site (Corinth, New York).