Effects of benzo(a)pyrene on early development of flatfish.

The ontogenetic effects of the environmental carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (BAP) on three species of larval flatfish were investigated using concentrations (from 0.10 to 4.2 ppb) which were comparable to levels found in polluted harbors. BAP-treated sand sole (Psettichthys melanostichus) eggs displayed a significant decline in hatching success and a significantly higher incidence of developmental anomalies than did control eggs. Flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) eggs exposed to a single dose of a water-soluble BAP-bovine serum albumin complex demonstrated evidence of toxic injury with pycnotic nuclei present in the integument and, more commonly, in ocular and neural tissues. An increased incidence of morphological anomalies in English sole (Parophyrs vetulus) eggs and larvae exposed to BAP was not detected.