Behavioral and histopathological effects of fluoranthene on bullfrog larvae (Rana catesbeiana)

Abstract

The goals of this study were to use behavioral and histopathological endpoints to examine the sublethal effects of fluoranthene exposure in conjunction with solar ultraviolet radiation on bullfrog larvae. Exposure to fluoranthene and simulated solar ultraviolet radiation for 48 h caused a significant effect on locomotor behavior at 60 μg fluoranthene/L. At 96 h, however, hyperactivity was noted in the 40‐μg fluoranthene/L exposure. The skin of bullfrog larvae was sensitive to the phototoxic effects of fluoranthene. Following exposure to sublethal levels of fluoranthene (10 μg fluoranthene/L) there were signs of necrosis as well as structural alterations in the skin when examined using light microscopy. Based on these results, the photoinduced toxicity of fluoranthene, and hence other phototoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pose a potential hazard to ranid larvae well within the water solubility limits of the compound.

Toxicity of coal-tar pavement sealants and ultraviolet radiation to Ambystoma Maculatum

“…The results for swimming distance contrasted with those of Walker et al (1998). They found that bullfrog larvae exposed to concentrations C 37.97 lg/L of fluoranthene swam farther than larvae in controls and lower concentrations.…”

Lethal and Sublethal Effects of UV‐B/pH Synergism on Common Frog Embryos

“…The same applied to the frequency of developmental anomalies, although low pH, in combination with a normal UV-B regime, also seemed to increase their frequency in the southern population. These findings provide further evidence for the contention that different populations of the same species may differ in their sensitivity to UV-B radiation (Williamson et al 1997;Corn 1998;Belden et al 2000) and that the synergism between UV-B radiation and other stressors may magnify the negative effects of UV-B radiation on amphibian development (Kiesecker & Blaustein 1995;Long et al 1995;Ankley et al 1998;Hatch & Burton 1998;Walker et al 1998;Zaga et al 1998;Monson et al 1999;Hatch & Blaustein 2000). Consequently, conclusions based on tests of UV-B radiation tolerance using single populations in the absence of other relevant environmental stressors should be viewed with caution.…”

“…However, the responses of developing amphibians to UV-B radiation can depend on other abiotic or biotic stressors that are present. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Hatch & Burton 1998;Walker et al 1998;Monson et al 1999), other chemical contaminants (Ankley et al 1998;Zaga et al 1998), pathogens (Kiesecker & Blaustein 1995;Kiesecker et al 2001), and low pH (Long et al 1995;Hatch & Blaustein 2000) amplify the negative effects of UV-B radiation exposure to amphibian embryos. For instance, Long et al (1995) found that the negative effects of UV-B on survival of Rana pipiens eggs were expressed only under low pH conditions.…”

Photoinduced Toxicity of Fluoranthene to Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana Pipiens)

“…Similarly, anthracene was not toxic to leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles in the absence of sunlight, but was highly toxic in the presence of sunlight [16], with median lethal concentration values of 65 and 25 g/L following sunlight exposures of 0.5 and 5 h, respectively. A more recent study described abnormal behavior and histopathology in bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) exposed to the PAH fluoranthene in the presence of UV light [17]. The objective of the present study was to further characterize the phenomenon of PAH phototoxicity to amphibians, specifically larval R. pipiens, a species common to most of North America.…”