Relative Toxicity and Sublethal Effects of NaCl and Energy-Related Saline Wastewaters on Prairie Amphibians

Tornabene, Brian J.; Breuner, Creagh W.; Hossack, Blake R.

doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2020.105626

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The abundance and occurrence of amphibians in wastewater-contaminated wetlands varies with degree of contamination ( Hossack et al , 2018 ). Similarly, sensitivity to wastewaters varies among species with chorus frogs generally being the most sensitive followed by leopard frogs and then tiger salamanders (based on lethal concentration 50 tests; Tornabene et al , 2020 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many amphibians are susceptible to salinity because of their porous skin and limited osmoregulatory capacity ( Shoemaker and Nagy, 1977 ; Hintz and Relyea, 2019 ); however, some species are tolerant or can become adaptively tolerant to saline environments (reviewed in Hopkins and Brodie, 2015 ). Increased salinity from two different sources (wastewaters and road salts) has similar lethal and sublethal effects on larval amphibians in laboratory and field studies ( Albecker and McCoy, 2017 ; Hossack et al , 2018 ; Hintz and Relyea, 2019 ; Tornabene et al , 2020 ). CORT (the predominant GC in amphibians; Macchi and Phillips, 1966 ) can increase with exposure to salinity ( Chambers, 2011 ; Chambers et al , 2013 ; Hopkins et al , 2016 ; Hall et al , 2017 , 2020 ) and is thought to be involved in iono- and osmo-regulation of aquatic vertebrates ( Warburg, 1995 ; McCormick, 2001 ; McCormick and Bradshaw, 2006 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our objective was to evaluate whether CORT could be used as a biomarker of salt stress for larval amphibians. To this end, we sought to determine the effects of increased salinity from wastewaters on baseline and stress-induced waterborne CORT of three widespread larval amphibian species that vary in their sensitivity to salinity ( Hossack et al , 2018 , Tornabene et al , 2020 ). All three species occur across a wide gradient of salinity from wastewaters (~0–6000 mg/l Cl dependent on species; Hossack et al , 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If salinity from wastewaters affects waterborne CORT, then waterborne CORT may be an effective biomarker to assess physiological stress of larval amphibians exposed to salinity. Given similarities between effects of NaCl and wastewaters on amphibians ( Tornabene et al , 2020 ), CORT could also be an effective biomarker for other sources of salt contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating corticosterone as a biomarker for amphibians exposed to increased salinity and ambient corticosterone

Tornabene

Hossack

Crespi

et al. 2021

Conservation Physiology

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Physiological biomarkers are commonly used to assess the health of taxa exposed to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are often used as indicators of physiological stress in wildlife because they affect growth, reproduction and survival. Increased salinity from human activities negatively influences amphibians and their corticosterone (CORT; the main amphibian GC) physiology; therefore, CORT could be a useful biomarker. We evaluated whether waterborne CORT could serve as a biomarker of salt stress for three free-living amphibian species that vary in their sensitivity to salinity: boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata), northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium). Across a gradient of contamination from energy-related saline wastewaters, we tested the effects of salinity on baseline and stress-induced waterborne CORT of larvae. Stress-induced, but not baseline, CORT of leopard frogs increased with increasing salinity. Salinity was not associated with baseline or stress-induced CORT of chorus frogs or tiger salamanders. Associations between CORT and salinity were also not related to species-specific sensitivities to salinity. However, we detected background environmental CORT (ambient CORT) in all wetlands and spatial variation was high within and among wetlands. Higher ambient CORT was associated with lower waterborne CORT of larvae in wetlands. Therefore, ambient CORT likely confounded associations between waterborne CORT and salinity in our analysis and possibly influenced physiology of larvae. We hypothesize that larvae may passively take up CORT from their environment and downregulate endogenous CORT. Although effects of some hormones (e.g. oestrogen) and endocrine disruptors on aquatic organisms are well described, studies investigating the occurrence and effects of ambient CORT are limited. We provide suggestions to improve collection methods, reduce variability and avoid confounding effects of ambient CORT. By making changes to methodology, waterborne CORT could still be a promising, non-invasive conservation tool to evaluate effects of salinity on amphibians.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Evaluating corticosterone as a biomarker for amphibians exposed to increased salinity and ambient corticosterone

Tornabene

Hossack

Crespi

et al. 2021

Conservation Physiology

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“…Again, the ripple effects of salinization of ground water, due to a series of activities including inefficient wastewater treatment and discharge, on children were studied and found to have serious cognitive impairment consequences on them [14]. In the aquatic community, increasing salinity of fresh water bodies due to both natural and human activities has been identified as altering the growth and biochemical constituents of micro algae, amphibians, and other freshwater adapted species and this has dire consequences on the food chain within the aquatic ecosystem [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desalination of Municipal Wastewater Using Forward Osmosis

Ezugbe¹,

Tetteh²,

Rathilal³

et al. 2021

Membranes

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Membrane technology has gained much ground in water and wastewater treatment over the past couple of decades. This is timely, as the world explores smart, eco-friendly, and cheap water and wastewater treatment technologies in its quest to make potable water and sanitation commonplace in all parts of the world. Against this background, this study investigated forward osmosis (FO) in the removal of salts (chlorides, sulphates, and carbonates) and organics (chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), and color) from a synthetic municipal wastewater (MWW), mimicking secondary-treated industrial wastewater, at very low feed and draw solution flow rates (0.16 and 0.14 L/min respectively), using 70 g/L NaCl solution as the draw solution. The results obtained showed an average of 97.67% rejection of SO42− and CO32− while Cl− was found to enrich the feed solution (FS). An average removal of 88.92% was achieved for the organics. A permeation flux of 5.06 L/m2.h was obtained. The kinetics of the ions transport was studied, and was found to fit the second-order kinetic model, with Pearson’s R-values of 0.998 and 0.974 for Cl− and CO32− respectively. The study proves FO as a potential technology to desalinate saline MWW.

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Comparative Effects of Energy‐Related Saline Wastewaters and Sodium Chloride on Hatching, Survival, and Fitness‐Associated Traits of Two Amphibian Species

Tornabene

Breuner

Hossack

2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

Self Cite

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Salinity (sodium chloride [NaCl]) is a prevalent and persistent contaminant that negatively affects freshwater ecosystems. Although most studies focus on effects of salinity from road salts (primarily NaCl), high‐salinity wastewaters from energy extraction (wastewaters) could be more harmful because they contain NaCl and other toxic components. Many amphibians are sensitive to salinity, and their eggs are thought to be the most sensitive life‐history stage. However, there are few investigations with salinity that include eggs and larvae sequentially in long‐term exposures. We investigated the relative effects of wastewaters from a large energy reserve, the Williston Basin (USA), and NaCl on northern leopard (Rana pipiens) and boreal chorus (Pseudacris maculata) frogs. We exposed eggs and tracked responses through larval stages (for 24 days). Wastewaters and NaCl caused similar reductions in hatching and larval survival, growth, development, and activity, while also increasing deformities. Chorus frog eggs and larvae were more sensitive to salinity than leopard frogs, suggesting species‐specific responses. Contrary to previous studies, eggs of both species were less sensitive to salinity than larvae. Our ecologically relevant exposures suggest that accumulating effects can reduce survival relative to starting experiments with unexposed larvae. Alternatively, egg casings of some species may provide some protection against salinity. Notably, effects of wastewaters on amphibians were predominantly due to NaCl rather than other components. Therefore, findings from studies with other sources of increased salinity (e.g., road salts) could guide management of wastewater‐contaminated ecosystems, and vice versa, to mitigate effects of salinization. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:3137–3147. © 2021 SETAC

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Relative Toxicity and Sublethal Effects of NaCl and Energy-Related Saline Wastewaters on Prairie Amphibians

Cited by 15 publications

References 58 publications

Evaluating corticosterone as a biomarker for amphibians exposed to increased salinity and ambient corticosterone

Evaluating corticosterone as a biomarker for amphibians exposed to increased salinity and ambient corticosterone

Desalination of Municipal Wastewater Using Forward Osmosis

Comparative Effects of Energy‐Related Saline Wastewaters and Sodium Chloride on Hatching, Survival, and Fitness‐Associated Traits of Two Amphibian Species

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