Perfluorinated alkyl acids and fecundity assessment in striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) at Merritt Island national wildlife refuge

Highlights: • High liver PFOS in Striped mullet (median, 124 /g; range, 12.6–2770 ng/g) • Liver PFOA, PFNA, & PFTriA increase with increasing oocyte development. • Liver PFOS and PFOSA decrease with increasing oocyte development. • No significant negative impacts of liver PFAA on wild-caught, mullet fecundity This study investigated wild caught striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) for levels of 15 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA) in tandem with individual fecundity measurements (Oocyte sub-stage 2 late, n = 42) and oocyte reproductive stages (Stages 1–5, n = 128). PFAA measurements were quantified in striped mullet liver (n = 128), muscle (n = 49), and gonad (n = 10). No significant negative impacts of liver PFAA burden on wild-caught, mullet fecundity endpoints were observed in this study; however, changes in PFAA were observed in the liver as mullet progressed through different sub-stages of oocyte development. Of the PFAA with significant changes by sub-stage of oocyte development, the carboxylic acids (perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, and perfluorotridecanoic acid) increased in the liver with increasing sub-stage while the sulfonic acid and its precursor (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide, respectively) decreased in the liver with increasing sub-stage of oocyte development. This is a unique find and suggests PFAA change location of compartmentalization as mullet progress towards spawning. Investigations also revealed higher than expected median muscle and gonad levels of PFOS in striped mullet collected at MINWR (9.01 ng/g and 80.2 ng/g, respectively).