Latitudinal Fractionation of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Frogs (Rana temporaria)

Abstract

The flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have become ubiquitous environmental pollutants. The environmental distribution of PBDEs is much less studied than that of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). To compare the environmental fate of the PCBs with their partial substitute, the PBDEs, common frogs (Rana temporaria)were collected along a approximately 1,500-km-long latitudinal gradient of the Scandinavian Peninsula and their livers analyzed for PCBs and PBDEs. Mean concentrations of total PCBs and BDE47 ranged from 9200 to 92 900 and 30 to 120 ng kg(-1) fresh weight, respectively, whereas BDE99 was detected in less than 50% of the frogs. PCB concentrations were higher than that of the PBDEs, and the differences decreased in the northern latitudes. Moreover, the pollutant concentrations in frog livers were negative functions of latitude. The observed scatter and regression slopes imply several influencing factors (such as habitat, exposure route, uptake, metabolism, excretion, etc.) and indicate release events instead of the grasshopper effect Biological variables such as gender, age, body size, and lipid content did not influence pollutant concentrations in the frog livers. The total PCB and BDE47 concentrations in frogs were highly correlated. Hence, their environmental fate is analogous and our results highlight the need to examine the potential role of xenobiotics on amphibian populations.

A review of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and alternative brominated flame retardants in wildlife from China: Levels, trends, and bioaccumulation characteristics

“…Levels of BDEs 47 and 99 in these frogs were 2-10 times higher than those reported in frog Rana temporaria collected from Sweden (Ter Schure et al, 2002), the only available data on PBDE levels in wild frogs for comparison.…”

Thyroid disruption by technical decabromodiphenyl ether (DE-83R) at low concentrations in Xenopus laevis

“…The PBDE burden in tadpoles exposed to 1 ng/L DE-83R reached 11.04 ng/g ww, while it reached 128.09 ng/g ww in 10 ng/L DE-83R treatment group. In consistence with our study, Ter Schure et al (2002) reported that PBDEs burden in some wild amphibians exceed 100 ng/g ww. Therefore, the results from current study demonstrated that DE-83R at close to environmentally relevant concentrations caused thyroid disruption in X. laevis tadpoles.…”

Chronic, dietary polybrominated diphenyl ether exposure affects survival, growth, and development of Rana pipiens tadpoles

“…Tadpole body burden concentrations of SPBDEs in the present study are representative of concentrations found in sediments and fishes throughout the world, including the Great Lakes, as well as invertebrates from the North Sea [13,14,30]. In Scandinavian frog livers, BDE-47 and -99 reached levels of 0.12 and 0.18 ng/g wet weight, respectively [31], but have not been measured in North America where biota PBDE levels are generally an order of magnitude higher than in Europe [14].…”