Assessment of fish health in Ashumet and Johns Ponds adjacent to the Massachusetts Military Reservation

Ashumet and Johns Ponds are located adjacent to the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) on Cape Cod, and lie in or near the paths of several plumes of groundwater contamination flowing from the MMR. This study had the objective of documenting the present status of fish in both ponds in efforts to establish base-line conditions for any future biological monitoring activities and to determine whether evidence exists for current contaminant impacts. This objective was addressed through three complimentary approaches, including the determination of Health Assessment Index (HAI) scores for fish sampled from Ashumet and Johns Ponds and several reference ponds in the area, measurement of various biochemical and physiological indicators in fish tissues and fluids and histopathological examinations of fish organs. For each of the three primary fish species examined in this study, largemouth bass, brown bullhead catfish, and yellow perch, many similarities were noted in the physiological, biochemical and histopathological condition of fish in all the study ponds. However, mean HAIs tended to be slightly higher (indicative of poorer health) in Ashumet and Johns Ponds, due in part to pathologies related to a higher incidence of parasitic infection at these sites. The most striking differences between the ponds were verymore » high prevalences of oral and body surface papillomas in brown bullhead catfish from Johns Pond (59%) and Ashumet Pond (34%). Although pesticides, PCBs, and other chemical contaminants were present in fish from all of ponds, there was no obvious relationship between chemical body burdens and the responses of any of the measured indicator parameters, nor was there any conclusive evidence of current impacts on fish from the contaminant plumes.« less