Pollutants and biomarker responses in two reef fish species (Haemulon aurolineatum and Ocyurus chrysurus) in the Southern Gulf of Mexico Gerardo Gold-Bouchot a, ⁎, J. Rubio-Piña d , J. Montero-Muñoz b , N. Ramirez-Miss a , A. Echeverría-García c , V. Patiño-Suarez b , C.A. Puch-Hau b , O. Zapata-Pérez b a Oceanography Department and Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG), Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States b Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Departamento de Recursos del Mar, Unidad Mérida. Km. 6 Antigua Carretera a Progreso, Cordemex, 97310 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico c Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana No. 3917, Fraccionamiento Playitas, 22860 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico d Departamento de Toxicología Ambiental, Centro de Investigación en Genética y Ambiente, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Km 10.5 Autopista Tlaxcala-San Martin, Ixtacuixtla, 90120 Tlaxcala, Mexico abstract article info Article history: Received 24 March 2016 Received in revised form 19 October 2016 Accepted 28 December 2016 Available online xxxx The environmental quality differences between two groups of reefs in the Veracruz Reef System were evaluated. The North group of reefs is very close to Veracruz, an urban and port zone, whereas the South group is more iso- lated, with minor anthropogenic disturbances. To prove the hypothesis that the North group is more affected by anthropogenic activities, the concentrations of hydrocarbons in liver, metals and metalloids such as Se, As, Ba, Cd, Hg and V in muscle, and PAH metabolites in bile were evaluated, and related to biomarkers (transcript abundance of cytochrome P4501A, Vitellogenin, and Glutathione-S-transferase) in two species of fish: Haemulon aurolineatum and Ocyurus chysurus. H. aurolineatum presents the highest concentrations for many pollutants, but O. chysurus shows the most significant differences in pollutant concentrations and biomarkers between the two reef groups, suggesting that this species could be used as a sentinel in future studies in the Gulf of Mexico. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Biomarkers Pollution Sentinel organisms Veracruz Reef System Xenobiotic metabolism Metals Hydrocarbons 1. Introduction The coastal environment is one of the most susceptible to the effects of environmental contaminants. Many ecosystems such as coral reefs and estuaries have been altered to levels beyond possible recovery (Métais et al., 2012; Celander, 2011). Marine species are increasingly ex- posed to chemical pollutants (heavy metals, oil, polycyclic aromatic hy- drocarbons, halogenated compounds, etc.) as a result of anthropogenic activities. In field studies where complex contaminant mixtures are likely to occur it is important to include an appropriate multiparametric approach to evaluate the effects of these pollutants on sentinel organ- isms. The assessment of marine ecosystems is an important aspect of environmental protection, and the use of biomarkers has been incorpo- rated to establish connections between concentrations of pollutants and their effects in organisms. Sensitive biological responses such as bio- markers can help to analyze an environment as an early response about the conditions that are deteriorating this ecosystem (Gusso- Choueri et al., 2015). In this study we measure biochemical responses in fish tissue to determine the health status as possibly affected by the presence of pollutants in the Veracruz Reef System. The early response biomarkers we use are 1) induction of the hepatic cytochrome P-450 1A (CYP1A), which is related to organic xenobiotic biotransformation phase I system, used to evaluate the sub-lethal toxic effects of oil and hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Shirani et al., 2012); 2) Glutathione-S-transfer- ase (GsT) which are enzymes used for conjugation of electrophilic com- pounds during phase II of xenobiotic metabolism. Hepatic GsT induction and activity have been related to significant alterations by metals and metalloids, PAHs and halogenated hydrocarbons in fish (Anderson and Lee, 2006); 3) induction of Vitellogenin (VTG), which has been used to assess exposure to estrogenic chemicals (Huang et al., 2012); and 4) presence of PAH metabolites in fish bile as biomarkers of recent expo- sure to hydrocarbons and oil (Anderson and Lee, 2006). The Veracruz Reef System (VRS) is located near the port city of Vera- cruz, on the western Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1). The port of Veracruz is the main cargo port in Mexico and a main tourist destination. The VRS was designated a National Park in 1992, and it was included in 2004 as a wetland of international importance in the Ramsar list. It functions as a reservoir, bridge and spread point of species between Caribbean reef Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2017) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ggold@tamu.edu (G. Gold-Bouchot). MPB-08292; No of Pages 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.073 0025-326X/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul Please cite this article as: Gold-Bouchot, G., et al., Pollutants and biomarker responses in two reef fish species (Haemulon aurolineatum and Ocyurus chrysurus) in the Southern Gulf of Mexico, Marine Pollution Bulletin (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.073