Maternal transfer of contaminants and reduced reproductive success of southern toads (Bufo [Anaxyrus] terrestris) exposed to coal combustion waste – via Herp Digest

Brian S. Metts , Kurt A Buhlmann , Tracey D Tuberville , David E Scott , and William A. Hopkins

Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript

DOI: 10.1021/es303989u

Publication Date (Web): February 13, 2013

(Apology but whom to contact, as well as organizations authors are associated with was not available.)

Abstract

Bioaccumulation of contaminants and subsequent maternal transfer to offspring are important factors that affect the reproductive success of wildlife. However, maternal transfer of contaminants has rarely been investigated in amphibians. We examined maternal transfer of trace elements in southern toads (Bufo[Anaxyrus] terrestris) residing in two locations: 1) an active coal combustion waste (CCW) disposal basin and adjacent 40-ha floodplain contaminated with CCW over 35 years ago, and 2) an uncontaminated reference site. Our study is among the few to document tissue concentration-dependent maternal transfer of contaminants and associated adverse effects in amphibians. We found that females collected from the CCW-contaminated area had elevated concentrations of Ni, Se, and Sr; these females also transferred elevated levels of Cu, Pb, Se, and Sr to their eggs compared to females from the reference site. Overall reproductive success, estimated as a function of clutch size and offspring viability, was reduced by 27% in clutches collected from parents from the contaminated site compared to the reference site. Offspring viability negatively correlated with female and/or egg concentrations of Se and Ni. Reproductive success negatively correlated with Se and Cu concentrations in females, and Se concentrations in eggs. Our study highlights how exposure to CCW can negatively affect amphibian reproduction.

Good News for Norwegian Polar Bears: PCBs Levels Down

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2012) — In a study of PCBs in polar bear cubs in Svalbard, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that blood levels of PCBs and related contaminants in polar bear cubs appear to have dropped by as much as 59 per cent between 1998 and 2008.

It's never been easy to be a polar bear. They may have to go months without eating. Their preferred food, seal, requires enormous luck and patience to catch. Add to that the melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change, and the poisoning of the Arctic by toxic chemicals, and it's easy to see why polar bears worldwide are in trouble.

Among all the bad news, however, comes one possible bright spot. In a study of PCBs in polar bear cubs in Svalbard, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that blood levels of PCBs and related contaminants in polar bear cubs appear to have dropped by as much as 59 per cent between 1998 and 2008. At the same time, levels of these contaminants in their mothers were as much as 55 per cent lower over the same period.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120330081357.htm