What You Need to Know about Selenium

Young, Terry; Finley, Keith; Adams, William J.; Besser, John M.; Hopkins, William D.; Jolley, Dianne F.; McNaughton, Eugenia; Presser, Theresa S.; Shaw, D; Unrine, Jason M.

doi:10.1201/ebk1439826775-c3

Cited by 44 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 156 publications

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“…For game or recreational species within legal catch size limits, it may be practical to excise a skin‐on fillet for separate analysis from the remaining whole‐body analysis to satisfy data needs for human health, and then combine the results for the fillet with those for the remaining tissues for ecological risk assessments. Eggs provide a measure of accumulation most directly related to reproductive toxicity for fish, amphibians, and birds (Hodson et al 2010; Janz et al 2010; Young et al 2010). However, sampling of eggs is seasonally limited, depending on the biology of the species present.…”

Section: Sampling and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conducting site‐specific assessments of selenium bioaccumulation in aquatic systems

Ohlendorf

Covington

Byron

et al. 2011

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Selenium (Se) is a chemical of concern at many locations across North America and elsewhere, and site-specific conditions are important when evaluating its bioaccumulation and effects in aquatic ecosystems. Most regulatory criteria and guidelines are based on waterborne Se concentrations. In contrast, the draft water quality chronic criterion of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is based on Se concentrations in whole-body fish, and current information suggests the agency will issue a new draft criterion based in part on fish egg and/or ovary Se concentrations. However, implementation guidance is not available from the agency for either of these tissue-based criteria. Therefore, we describe a phased approach for field and laboratory assessments of Se bioaccumulation in fish and aquatic-dependent birds that can be applied in different environmental settings with the goal of developing and interpreting a tissue-based Se value. We recommend here the use of decision trees, conceptual models, and data quality objectives toward defining what should be done during the assessment, plus sampling and monitoring procedures for the assessment. First, available tissue or waterborne Se concentrations should be compared to tissue residue guidelines or adopted water quality criteria and guidelines. When needed, reproductive toxicity testing and assessment of fish populations should also be conducted in the area of interest. In addition, extensive data on the effects of Se on fish and bird species have been developed, and describing the associations between fish or bird egg tissue, aqueous Se, and potential effects is important for sites where Se may be a concern. Selenium bioaccumulation and toxicity also are of concern for amphibians and oviparous reptiles, but interpretive information is very limited for those species. Recent science indicates that effects are more strongly related to tissue concentrations of Se (especially in the eggs or ovaries of oviparous vertebrates) than to waterborne concentrations. Overall, we conclude that the approach for site-specific assessment must be flexible enough to allow what is appropriate for the situation. Furthermore, risk management and remediation decisions should be based on combined biology and chemistry data, using multiple lines of evidence in the assessment.

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Section: Sampling and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Endpoints of concern for Se effects are reproduction, survival, and growth (Young et al 2010). Of these, reproduction usually is the most sensitive.…”

Section: Sampling and Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting site‐specific assessments of selenium bioaccumulation in aquatic systems

Ohlendorf

Covington

Byron

et al. 2011

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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“…Globally speaking, much remains to be discovered in the field of selenium toxicity and especially in poikilothermic amniotes commonly known as reptiles (Janz et al 2010;Sparling et al 2010;Young et al 2010;Perrault et al 2013). Nevertheless, laboratory-controlled studies have provided evidences that reptiles may be likewise affected by selenium exposure.…”

Section: Electronic Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicokinetics of selenium in the slider turtle, Trachemys scripta

et al. 2016

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Selenium (Se) is an essential element that can be harmful for wildlife. However, its toxicity in poikilothermic amniotes, including turtles, remains poorly investigated. The present study aims at identifying selenium toxicokinetics and toxicity in juvenile slider turtles (age: 7 months), Trachemys scripta, dietary exposed to selenium, as selenomethionine SeMet, for eight weeks. Nondestructive tissues (i.e. carapace, scutes, skin and blood) were further tested for their suitability to predict selenium levels in target tissues (i.e. kidney, liver and muscle) for conservation perspective. 130 juvenile yellow-bellied slider turtles were assigned in three groups of 42 individuals each (i.e. control, SeMet 1 and SeMet 2 ). These groups were subjected to a feeding trial including an eight-week supplementation period SP 8 and a following 4-week elimination period EP 4 . During the SP 8 , turtles fed on diet containing 1.1 ± 0.04, 22.1 ± 1.0 and 45.0 ± 2.0 lg g -1 of selenium (control, SeMet 1 and SeMet 2 , respectively). During the EP 4 , turtles fed on non-supplemented diet. At different time during the trial, six individuals per group were sacrificed and tissues collected (i.e. carapace, scutes, skin, blood, liver, kidney, muscle) for analyses. During the SP 8 (Fig. 1), both SeMet 1 and SeMet 2 turtles efficiently accumulated selenium from a SeMet dietary source. The more selenium was concentrated in the food, the more it was in the turtle body but the less it was removed from their tissues. Moreover, SeMet was found to be the more abundant selenium species in turtles' tissues. Body condition (i.e. growth in mass and size, feeding behaviour and activity) and survival of the SeMet 1 and SeMet 2 turtles seemed to be unaffected by the selenium exposure. There were clear evidences that reptilian species are differently affected by and sensitive to selenium exposure but the lack of any adverse effects was quite unexpected.

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“…In selenium-enriched aquatic environments, impacts are typically associated with teratogenic effects (deformities) or mortality in early life stages of egg-laying vertebrates following the maternal transfer of selenium to eggs [2,3]. It was formerly assumed that selenium becomes randomly substituted for sulphur in proteins and enzymes, causing them to become malformed and dysfunctional [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food chain model based on field data to predict westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) ovary selenium concentrations from water selenium concentrations in the Elk Valley, British Columbia

Orr

Wiramanaden

Paine

et al. 2012

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Previous studies conducted in the Elk River watershed showed that selenium concentrations are higher in aquatic biota in lentic compared to lotic habitats of the system having similar water selenium concentrations. Studies have also shown that water selenium concentrations have increased over time (~10% per year) and recent annual average concentrations have ranged up to 0.044 mg/L in areas downstream from mine discharges. For the present study, trophic transfer of selenium was characterized in lotic versus lentic habitats using concentrations measured in field-collected samples and assuming a three-step food chain of water to the base of the food web (biofilm), to benthic invertebrates, and then to westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) ovaries. Food chain models were developed for each habitat type (lotic and lentic) by combining linear regression equations for the three transfer relationships, allowing for prediction of fish ovary concentrations from water concentrations. Greater accumulation of selenium in lentic areas was mostly attributable to greater uptake at the base of the food chain compared to lotic areas. Enrichment/trophic transfer factors for selenium at all levels of the lotic and lentic food chains decreased and then became near constant as exposure concentrations increased. The lotic model predicted little increase in WCT ovary selenium concentrations over an eightfold increase in water concentrations (~0.005-0.040 mg/L), accounting for the lack of observed increase in within-area fish tissue concentrations over time despite increasing trends in water concentrations.

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What You Need to Know about Selenium

Abstract: Jason: What you need to know about selenium 2010, 7-45.

Cited by 44 publications

References 156 publications

Conducting site‐specific assessments of selenium bioaccumulation in aquatic systems

Conducting site‐specific assessments of selenium bioaccumulation in aquatic systems

Toxicokinetics of selenium in the slider turtle, Trachemys scripta

Food chain model based on field data to predict westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) ovary selenium concentrations from water selenium concentrations in the Elk Valley, British Columbia

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