Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Concentrations in Plasma of the Lake Erie Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon insularum) and Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) from the Great Lakes Basin in 1998

Abstract

From the Great Lakes basin, concentrations of 59 congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 14 organochlorine pesticides were measured in blood plasma of northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) and Lake Erie water snake (Nerodia sipedon insularum), which is endangered in Canada. In 1998, four male adult Lake Erie water snakes were sampled from Pelee Island, western Lake Erie; four male northern water snakes were sampled at Little Lake, about 20 km north of Parry Sound in central Ontario; and four adult gravid female northern water snakes were sampled from Garden Island, eastern Lake Ontario. The blood plasma was pooled by site for a total of three samples analyzed. The Pelee Island sample from male Lake Erie water snakes contained less than half the lipid concentration (0.349%) than samples from the other sites, but it was the most contaminated with PCBs, even on a wet weight basis. Summed concentration of individual PCBs in the Pelee Island sample was 167 ng/g (wet weight), which was 14-fold higher than the next most contaminated sample, which was from Little Lake. The plasma sample from Little Lake contained 12 ng/g (WW) and was four times more contaminated with PCBs than the sample from female snakes from Garden Island, Lake Ontario. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations in plasma were relatively similar among sites. None of the pesticides was found above trace concentrations (0.1-0.9 ng/g) except pp'-DDE, which occurred at 2-5 ng/g among sites. PCB congener patterns in the Lake Erie water snakes were compared to PCB patterns in plasma of common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) from Lake Ontario, herring gull eggs (Larus argentatus) from western Lake Erie, and mudpuppy eggs (Necturus maculosus) from the Detroit River. The PCB patterns in water snake and herring gull sample were most similar, followed by the pattern in snapping turtle plasma. The presence of more lower-chlorinated chlorobiphenyls in the mudpuppy eggs relative to the other species made this sample distinct from the water snake, gull, and turtle.

Using Blood Plasma for Monitoring Organochlorine Contaminants in Juvenile White Sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, from the Lower Columbia River

“…Similar relationships have been observed in other species, including humans (Mes 1992;Minh et al 2005), sea turtles (Keller et el. 2004), marine mammals (Bernhoft et al 1997), birds (Friend et al 1979;Elliott and Shutt 1993;Henriksen et al 1998;Bustnes et al 2001), and aquatic reptiles (Bishop and Rouse 2000). Keller et al (2004) observed a significant correlation (r 2 = 0.66) between fat and whole blood in loggerhead sea turtles for total DDT.…”

“…This method has been commonly used as a non-lethal method to monitor persistent OCs in wildlife, particularly endangered or threatened species (Elliott and Shutt 1993;Jensen et al 1994;Bernhoft et al 1997;Bishop and Rouse 2000;Keller et al 2004). Little information exists on the use of blood plasma for monitoring fish populations, particularly large, longlived freshwater species like white sturgeon.…”

Organochlorine contaminants in sea turtles: Correlations between whole blood and fat

“…As expected, the dominant congeners (PCBs 138, 153, and 180) found in the loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles in our study were the dominant congeners in adipose tissue of green sea turtles from Hawaii (USA) [36] and in tissues of animals inhabiting the Great Lakes. Notably, these specific congeners were prevalent in plasma of Lake Erie (USA) water snakes and snapping turtles and in eggs of herring gulls and mud puppies [12]. These congeners also dominated the PCB profile in fatty tissues of Alaskan (USA) marine mammals [23].…”

Element Levels in Snakes in South Carolina: Differences Between a Control Site and Exposed Site on the Savannah River Site

“…Levels of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls and some metals (copper, mercury, selenium, zinc) were examined in blood of diamondback water snakes (Nerodia rhombifer) and blotched water snakes (Nerodia erythrogaster) in Texas (Clark et al, 2000), pesticides in water snakes and cottonmouths from Mississippi (Ford and Hill, 1991), metal concentrations in banded water snakes (Nerodia fasciata) from the SRS (Hopkins et al, 2001), PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in northern water snakes and Lake Erie water snakes (Nerodia sipedon insularum) from the Great Lakes Basin (Bishop and Rouse, 2000), and heavy metals in northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) from Tennessee (Burger et al, in press). None of these studies examined three species of aquatic snakes in contaminated and reference sites in both blood and tail snips, although Clark et al (2000) also examined levels in cottonmouths.…”