Mercury Bioaccumulation in Northern Two-lined Salamanders from Streams in the Northeastern United States

Bank, Michael S.; Loftin, Cynthia S.; Jung, Robin E.

doi:10.1007/s10646-004-6268-8

Cited by 48 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…While this relationship may hold true at other locations, the slope is likely to change due to the differences in THg concentrations in various systems. For example, Bank et al [39] reported a lower THg concentrations, but higher percent MMHg for larval E. bislineata bislineata (northern two-lined salamanders: 73 to 97%) from Acadia National Park, Maine, USA than were found in larval E. bislineata in the present study (39 to 73%). For B. americanus, percent MMHg in blood was the highest (73.3 AE 4.8 %) of the tissues sampled.…”

Section: Mercury Bioaccumulation and Speciationcontrasting

confidence: 56%

Bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of mercury and selenium in amphibians

Bergeron

Bodinof

Unrine

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Amphibian population declines have been documented worldwide and environmental contaminants are believed to contribute to some declines. Maternal transfer of bioaccumulated contaminants to offspring may be an important and overlooked mechanism of impaired reproductive success that affects amphibian populations. Mercury (Hg) is of particular concern due to its ubiquity in the environment, known toxicity to other wildlife, and complex relationships with other elements, such as selenium (Se). The objectives of the present study were to describe the relationships between total Hg (THg), methlymercury (MMHg), and Se in three amphibian species (Plethodon cinereus, Eurycea bislineata cirrigera, and Bufo americanus) along a Hg-polluted river and floodplain, and to determine if B. americanus maternally transfers Hg and Se to its eggs in a tissue residue-dependent manner. Total Hg and MMHg concentrations in all species spanned two orders of magnitude between the reference and contaminated areas, while Se concentrations were generally low in all species at both sites. Strong positive relationships between THg and MMHg in tissues of all species were observed throughout. Both Hg and Se were maternally transferred from females to eggs in B. americanus, but the percentage of the females' Hg body burden transferred to eggs was low compared with Se. In addition, Hg concentrations appeared to positively influence the amount of Se transferred from female to eggs. The present study is the first to confirm a correlation between Hg concentrations in female carcass and eggs in amphibians and among the first to describe co-transference of Se and Hg in an anamniotic vertebrate. The results suggest future work is needed to determine whether maternal transfer of Hg has transgenerational implications for amphibian progeny.

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Section: Mercury Bioaccumulation and Speciationcontrasting

confidence: 56%

Bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of mercury and selenium in amphibians

Bergeron

Bodinof

Unrine

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Total Hg concentrations were low in the reference site for all species, and THg concentrations for both stages of E. bislineata in the reference site were comparable to concentrations of the closely related E. bislineata bislineata found in Shenandoah and Acadia National Parks [30]. In contrast, peak whole-body THg concentrations in amphibians from the contaminated site were the highest reported for amphibians in the literature [6,10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Mercury accumulation along a contamination gradient and nondestructive indices of bioaccumulation in amphibians

Bergeron

Bodinof

Unrine

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Mercury (Hg) is an important environmental contaminant due to its global distribution, tendency to bioaccumulate, and toxicity in wildlife. However, Hg has received little attention in amphibians compared to other vertebrates. Amphibians vary widely in life history strategies and feeding ecologies, which could influence Hg exposure and accumulation. To determine whether species and life stage affects Hg bioaccumulation, adults from three species (Plethodon cinereus, Eurycea bislineata, and Bufo americanus) and larvae from the latter two species were collected along a contamination gradient on the South River (VA, USA). Total Hg (THg) concentrations in the contaminated site were 3.5 to 22 times higher than in the reference site. Differences were found in THg concentrations in amphibians that were consistent with their habitat requirements and feeding preferences. In general, adults (3,453 +/- 196 ng/g, dry mass) and larvae (2,479 +/- 171 ng/g) of the most river-associated species, E. bislineata, had the highest THg concentrations, followed by B. americanus tadpoles (2,132 +/- 602 ng/g), whereas adults of the more terrestrial B. americanus (598 +/- 117 ng/g) and P. cinereus (583 +/- 178 ng/g) had the lowest concentrations. In addition, nondestructive sampling techniques were developed. For the salamander species, THg concentrations in tail tissue were strongly correlated (r>or= 0.97) with the remaining carcass. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.92) also existed between blood and whole-body THg concentrations in B. americanus. These results suggest that amphibians and their terrestrial predators may be at risk of Hg exposure in this system and that nondestructive methods may be a viable sampling alternative that reduces impacts to local populations.

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“…Only recently has methylmercury in biota been measured in headwater streams. Salamanders have shown elevated Hg levels (Bank et al 2005), and absence of some salamander species has been linked to potential chemical changes such as greater acidification and increased methylmercury availability (Bank et al 2006). Further work has shown that crayfish in low-order streams generally have higher Hg burdens than crayfish in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs within the same watershed (Pennuto et al 2005).…”

Section: High-gradient Headwater Streamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Air Pollution on Ecosystems and Biological Diversity in the Eastern United States

Lovett

Tear

Evers

et al. 2009

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

194

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Conservation organizations have most often focused on land-use change, climate change, and invasive species as prime threats to biodiversity conservation. Although air pollution is an acknowledged widespread problem, it is rarely considered in conservation planning or management. In this synthesis, the state of scientific knowledge on the effects of air pollution on plants and animals in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States is summarized. Four air pollutants (sulfur, nitrogen, ozone, and mercury) and eight ecosystem types ranging from estuaries to alpine tundra are considered. Effects of air pollution were identified, with varying levels of certainty, in all the ecosystem types examined. None of these ecosystem types is free of the impacts of air pollution, and most are affected by multiple pollutants. In aquatic ecosystems, effects of acidity, nitrogen, and mercury on organisms and biogeochemical processes are well documented. Air pollution causes or contributes to acidification of lakes, eutrophication of estuaries and coastal waters, and mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs. In terrestrial ecosystems, the effects of air pollution on biogeochemical cycling are also very well documented, but the effects on most organisms and the interaction of air pollution with other stressors are less well understood. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence for effects of nitrogen deposition on plants in grasslands, alpine areas, and bogs, and for nitrogen effects on forest mycorrhizae. Soil acidification is widespread in forest ecosystems across the eastern United States and is likely to affect the composition and function of forests in acid-sensitive areas over the long term. Ozone is known to cause reductions in photosynthesis in many terrestrial plant species. For the most part, the effects of these pollutants are chronic, not acute, at the exposure levels common in the eastern United States. Mortality is often observed only at experimentally elevated exposure levels or in combination with other stresses such as drought, freezing, or pathogens. The notable exceptions are the acid/aluminum effects on aquatic organisms, which can be lethal at levels of acidity observed in many surface waters in the region. Although the effects are often subtle, they are important to biological conservation. Changes in species composition caused by terrestrial or aquatic acidification or eutrophication can propagate throughout the food webs to affect many organisms beyond those that are directly sensitive to the pollution. Likewise, sublethal 100Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences doses of toxic pollutants may reduce the reproductive success of the affected organisms or make them more susceptible to potentially lethal pathogens. Many serious gaps in knowledge that warrant further research were identified. Among those gaps are the effects of acidification, ozone, and mercury on alpine systems, effects of nitrogen on species composition of forests, effects of mercury in terrestrial food webs, interactiv...

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Mercury Bioaccumulation in Northern Two-lined Salamanders from Streams in the Northeastern United States

Cited by 48 publications

References 24 publications

Bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of mercury and selenium in amphibians

Bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of mercury and selenium in amphibians

Mercury accumulation along a contamination gradient and nondestructive indices of bioaccumulation in amphibians

Effects of Air Pollution on Ecosystems and Biological Diversity in the Eastern United States

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