| Abstract: | Major alterations in the distribution of peripheral blood cells were observed among winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) from Martha's Vineyard (MV), East Cape Cod Bay (ECCB), Fox Island (FI) (Narragansett Bay), Central Long Island Sound (CLIS), Gaspee Point (GP) (Narragansett Bay), Black Rock Harbor (BRH) (Bridgeport, CT), New Bedford Harbor (NBH) and Quincy Bay (QB) (Boston Harbor). Collection locations ranged from relatively uncontaminated offshore (MV) and nearshore (ECCB) sites to the more contaminated estuarine (FI, CLIS) and urban embayments (GP, BRH, NBH, QB). Differential diagnosis demonstrated a shift in lymphocyte counts from 28% (MV) to 54% (QB) that increased with the incidence of liver lesions in relation to known and suspected levels of sediment chemical contamination. A significant change in the ratio of circulating immature to mature erythrocytes was observed in flounder collected from Boston Harbor. Immature erythrocytes comprised 18% of the total erythrocyte population of fish from QB in comparison to 6% observed in flounder from ECCB. |
