Species-specific responses of developing anurans to coal combustion wastes

Snodgrass, Joel W.; Hopkins, William A.; Broughton, Jeffroy; Gwinn, Daniel C.; Baionno, Jennifer A.; Burger, Joanna

doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2003.09.002

Cited by 61 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The D-Area coal electricity generating facility on the Savannah River Site (U.S. Department of Energy) in Aiken, South Carolina, USA, employs this disposal method, resulting in contaminated ponds and ephemeral pools, used by several amphibian species for breeding. A number of studies have documented an array of adverse effects associated with exposure to coal ash [13,19,20]. Studies on G. carolinensis from the D-Area ash basin documented adverse reproductive and developmental effects compared to a population from a nearby noncontaminated reference site [13].…”

Section: Effects Of Coal Combustion Residuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple stressors and complex life cycles: Insights from a population‐level assessment of breeding site contamination and terrestrial habitat loss in an amphibian

Salice

Rowe

Pechmann

et al. 2011

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Understanding the effects of chemical contaminants on natural populations is challenging, as multiple anthropogenic and natural stressors may individually and interactively influence responses. Population models can be used to evaluate the impacts of multiple stressors and to provide insight into population-level effects and/or data gaps. For amphibians with complex life cycles, population models may be useful in understanding impacts of stressors that are unique to the habitat type (aquatic, terrestrial) and that operate at different times in the life cycle. We investigated the population-level effects of aquatic contaminants (coal combustion residues, CCR) and terrestrial habitat loss on the eastern narrowmouth toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis, using existing empirical data that demonstrated negative reproductive and developmental effects of CCR and a series of population models that incorporated density dependence and environmental stochasticity. Results of deterministic models indicated that when terrestrial habitat was abundant, CCR-exposed toads had a larger population size compared to the reference population as a result of reduced density-dependent effects on larval survival. However, when stochasticity in the form of catastrophic reproductive failure was included, CCR-exposed toads were more susceptible to decline and extinction compared to toads from the reference populations. The results highlight the complexities involved in assessing the effects of anthropogenic factors on natural populations, especially for species that are exposed to multiple biotic and abiotic stressors during different periods in the life cycle.

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Section: Effects Of Coal Combustion Residuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple stressors and complex life cycles: Insights from a population‐level assessment of breeding site contamination and terrestrial habitat loss in an amphibian

Salice

Rowe

Pechmann

et al. 2011

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Additionally, we considered a hypothetical case where maternal and dietary Hg exposure resulted in minor additional adult mortality (5% reduction in survival; dotted line). We examined the effects of Hg exposure on quasi-extinction probability and mean annual adult population size for each case across varying strengths of density dependence (c; 95% CI for B. americanus period of increased vulnerability for immunological (Todd 2007), energetic (Beck and Congdon 2003), and ecological (Arnold and Wassersug 1978) reasons, and is a time when adverse effects of contaminants frequently manifest (e.g., Marian et al 1983, Snodgrass et al 2004, Unrine et al 2004. Such effects likely have important population-level consequences in most species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making leaps in amphibian ecotoxicology: translating individual‐level effects of contaminants to population viability

Willson

Hopkins

Bergeron

et al. 2012

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Concern that environmental contaminants contribute to global amphibian population declines has prompted extensive experimental investigation, but individual-level experimental results have seldom been translated to population-level processes. We used our research on the effects of mercury (Hg) on American toads (Bufo americanus) as a model for bridging the gap between individual-level contaminant effects and amphibian population viability. We synthesized the results of previous field and laboratory studies examining effects of Hg throughout the life cycle of B. americanus and constructed a comprehensive demographic population model to evaluate the consequences of Hg exposure on population dynamics. Our model explicitly considered density-dependent larval survival, which is known to be an important driver of amphibian population dynamics, and incorporated two important factors that have seldom been considered in previous amphibian modeling studies: environmental stochasticity and sublethal effects. We demonstrated that decreases in embryonic survival and sublethal effects (e.g., reduced body size) that delay maturation have minor effects on population dynamics, whereas contaminant effects that reduce late-larval or post-metamorphic survival have important population-level consequences. We found that excessive Hg exposure through maternal transfer or larval diet, alone, had minor effects on B. americanus populations. Simultaneous maternal and dietary exposure resulted in reduced population size and a dramatic increase in extinction probability, but explicit prediction of population-level effects was dependent on the strength of larval density dependence. Our results suggest that environmental contaminants can influence amphibian population viability, but that highly integrative approaches are needed to translate individual-level effects to populations.

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“…Several studies have examined the impact of trace element concentrations on larval amphibians and have found effects on survival [3][4][5], growth and development [3][4][5][6][7][8], energy acquisition and allocation [9,10], and behavior or performance [3,7,11]. One trace element that is of particular concern is mercury (Hg), due to its ubiquity in the environment and known toxicity to other wildlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Species-specific responses of developing anurans to coal combustion wastes

Cited by 61 publications

References 25 publications

Multiple stressors and complex life cycles: Insights from a population‐level assessment of breeding site contamination and terrestrial habitat loss in an amphibian

Multiple stressors and complex life cycles: Insights from a population‐level assessment of breeding site contamination and terrestrial habitat loss in an amphibian

Making leaps in amphibian ecotoxicology: translating individual‐level effects of contaminants to population viability

Bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of mercury and selenium in amphibians

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