PCB congener distributions in muscle, liver and gonad of Fundulus heteroclitus from the lower Hudson River Estuary and Newark Bay E. Monosson * ,1 , J.T.F. Ashley 2 , A.E. McElroy 3 , D. Woltering 4 , A.A. Elskus 1,5 Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA Received 14 March 2002; received in revised form 10 January 2003; accepted 19 February 2003 Abstract Gradients in sediment polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and PCB congener profiles exist along the Hudson River (NY, USA). We evaluated site and tissue differences in PCB concentration and congener profiles in resident mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) collected from PCB-contaminated sites in the lower Hudson River and the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary. Fish were collected from three PCB-contaminated sites Piermont Marsh (P), Iona Marsh (I), and Newark Bay (NB), and from two reference sites (Flax Pond, NY; Succotash Salt Marsh, RI). Congener profiles were statistically analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and general linear model (GLM) profile analysis. Contaminated fish had PCB tissue concentrations approximately 10-fold higher than those of reference fish. There were no site differences in PCB body burden (all tissues combined) among the contaminated site fish. However, relative PCB concentration did differ between organs: NB fish (gonad ¼ liver > muscle); I and P fish (gonad > liver > muscle). In contrast to PCB content, PCB congener profiles did show site differences; NB mummichog being depleted in the less chlorinated congeners relative to I and P fish, likely reflecting different PCB sources to these populations. Within a site, however, PCB congener patterns were similar between liver, gonad and muscle. In con- clusion, PCA and GLM analyses gave complementary results, both analyses indicating differences in site, but not tissue, distributions of PCB congeners. This study also demonstrates that unlike congener profiles, total PCB content does differ dramatically amongst tissues and further, that PCB differences among tissues (gonad vs. liver vs. muscle) can vary with site. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mummichog; PCB; Bioaccumulation; Halogenated hydrocarbons; Fish Chemosphere 52 (2003) 777–787 www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere * Corresponding author. Present address: P.O. Box 329, Montague, MA 01351 USA. Tel./fax: +1-413-367-0052. E-mail address: emonosson@forwild.umass.edu (E. Monosson). 1 Authors Elskus and Monosson contributed equally to this work. 2 Present addresses: School of Science and Health, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA 19144, USA; Patrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. 3 Present address: Marine Sciences Research Center, 145 Endeavor Hall, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. 4 Present address: Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. 5 Present address: Department of Biology, 101 Morgan, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225, USA. 0045-6535/03/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00228-5