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Hoynes K, Holland AE, Bryan AL, Kupferman CA, Beasley JC. Trace elements and heavy metals in black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) in the southeastern United States. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:9000-9010. [PMID: 38183546 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31722-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Many vulture species worldwide are declining at alarming rates due to a variety of anthropogenic causes, including exposure to pollutants and pharmaceuticals through consumption of contaminated carrion. However, little is known about the extent to which vultures are exposed to various contaminants as well as toxicity thresholds for trace elements and heavy metals. Our objective was to quantify levels of trace elements and heavy metals within black vulture (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) tissues to determine the extent to which populations in the Southeastern United States are exposed to carrion that contains high levels of contaminants. We collected 34 black vulture liver samples and examined differences in trace element and heavy metal concentrations between sexes and age classes (adult and juvenile). Further, we collected 81 blood and 42 feather samples from additional black and turkey vultures and compared differences between species and age classes. We found similar element concentrations between juvenile and adult black vultures with the exception of Cu, where levels were higher in juveniles compared to adults. However, we did observe substantial differences in element concentrations between species for both blood and feather samples, with black vultures generally having higher concentrations of most elements. Our data revealed higher element levels in both species compared to toxicity thresholds found in other bird of prey species, such as blood and liver toxicity threshold suggestions for Pb poisoning in Falconiformes. Further, while average contaminant levels were generally low, extreme outliers were observed for some elements, including Pb, suggesting some individuals were exposed to high levels of potentially toxic elements. More research is needed to better understand contaminant exposure in black and turkey vultures across a broader geographic region, as well as elucidate toxicity thresholds and non-lethal impacts of contaminant exposure in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaleigh Hoynes
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Amanda E Holland
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2369 W. Orton Circle, Suite 50, West Valley City, UT, 84119, USA
| | - Albert L Bryan
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA
| | - Caitlin A Kupferman
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA.
| | - James C Beasley
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green St., Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA
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Reiter EB, Escher BI, Rojo-Nieto E, Nolte H, Siebert U, Jahnke A. Characterizing the marine mammal exposome by iceberg modeling, linking chemical analysis and in vitro bioassays. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2023; 25:1802-1816. [PMID: 37132588 PMCID: PMC10647987 DOI: 10.1039/d3em00033h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The present study complements work on mixture effects measured with in vitro bioassays of passive equilibrium sampling extracts using the silicone polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in organs from marine mammals with chemical profiling. Blubber, liver, kidney and brain tissues of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and orca (Orcinus orca) from the North and Baltic Seas were investigated. We analyzed 117 chemicals including legacy and emerging contaminants using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry and quantified 70 of those chemicals in at least one sample. No systematic differences between the organs were found. Only for single compounds a clear distribution pattern was observed. For example, 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, enzacamene and etofenprox were mainly detected in blubber, whereas tonalide and the hexachlorocyclohexanes were more often found in liver. Furthermore, we compared the chemical profiling with the bioanalytical results using an iceberg mixture model, evaluating how much of the biological effect could be explained by the analyzed chemicals. The mixture effect predicted from the quantified chemical concentrations explained 0.014-83% of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor activating effect (AhR-CALUX), but less than 0.13% for the activation of the oxidative stress response (AREc32) and peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor (PPARγ). The quantified chemicals also explained between 0.044-45% of the cytotoxic effect measured with the AhR-CALUX. The largest fraction of the observed effect was explained for the orca, which was the individuum with the highest chemical burden. This study underlines that chemical analysis and bioassays are complementary to comprehensively characterize the mixture exposome of marine mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva B Reiter
- Department of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Beate I Escher
- Department of Cell Toxicology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
- Environmental Toxicology, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Schnarrenbergstr. 94-96, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Rojo-Nieto
- Department of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Hannah Nolte
- Department of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany
| | - Ursula Siebert
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Werftstr. 6, 25761, Büsum, Germany
| | - Annika Jahnke
- Department of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany
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Guo Y, Gui D, Liu W, Xie Q, Wu Y. Hormonal biomarkers provide insights into the reproductive biology and pollutants-associated health hazards of endangered dolphins. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 337:139328. [PMID: 37379981 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Contaminants are known to contribute to the reproductive health hazards of wildlife, but pollutants-associated detrimental impacts on the endangered Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis, IPHD) are largely unknown due to a lack of reproductive parameters. Here we validated and applied blubber progesterone and testosterone as reproductive biomarkers to assess reproductive parameters of IPHD (n = 72). The gender-specific progesterone concentrations and progesterone/testosterone (P/T) supported progesterone and testosterone as valid biomarkers in identifying the genders of IPHD. Significant month-to-month variations of two hormones indicated a seasonal reproduction, in accordance with the observation of photo-identification approach, further supporting testosterone and progesterone as ideal reproductive biomarkers. Progesterone and testosterone concentrations showed significant differences between Lingding Bay and West-four region, possibly due to chronically geographic-specific pollutants differences. The significant relationships between sex hormones and multiple contaminants suggested that contaminants contribute to the disruption of testosterone and progesterone homeostasis. The best explanatory models between pollutants and hormones suggested that dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), lead (Pb) and selenium (Se) were the major risk factors jeopardizing the reproductive health of IPHD. This is the first study on the relationship between pollutant exposure and reproductive hormones in IPHD and represents a substantial advance in understanding the detrimental reproductive impacts of pollutants on endangered cetaceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongwei Guo
- School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), China
| | - Duan Gui
- School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), China.
| | - Wen Liu
- School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), China
| | - Qiang Xie
- School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), China
| | - Yuping Wu
- School of Marine Sciences, Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-Sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), China.
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Provatas AA, Kolakowski SL, Sternberg FH, Stuart JD, Perkins CR. Analysis of Dried Blood Spots for Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Organochlorine Pesticides by Gas Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry. ANAL LETT 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/00032719.2018.1541994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony A. Provatas
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Steven L. Kolakowski
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Francis H. Sternberg
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - James D. Stuart
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - Christopher R. Perkins
- Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
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Tubbs CW, McDonough CE. Reproductive Impacts of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals on Wildlife Species: Implications for Conservation of Endangered Species. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2017; 6:287-304. [PMID: 29140722 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-030117-014547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Wildlife have proven valuable to our understanding of the potential effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on human health by contributing considerably to our understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of EDC exposure. But the threats EDCs present to populations of wildlife species themselves are significant, particularly for endangered species whose existence is vulnerable to any reproductive perturbation. However, few studies address the threats EDCs pose to endangered species owing to challenges associated with their study. Here, we highlight those barriers and review the available literature concerning EDC effects on endangered species. Drawing from other investigations into nonthreatened wildlife species, we highlight opportunities for new approaches to advance our understanding and potentially mitigate the effects of EDCs on endangered species to enhance their fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher W Tubbs
- San Diego Zoo Global, Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, California 92027, USA;
| | - Caitlin E McDonough
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA;
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Zhao X, Lung WS. Modeling the fate and transport of 17β-estradiol in the South River watershed in Virginia. CHEMOSPHERE 2017; 186:780-789. [PMID: 28821002 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.08.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Hormones excreted by livestock metabolisms often enter surface water through feces and urine and can potentially cause adverse impacts to aquatic biota. This study involved a modeling analysis of 17β-estradiol (E2), a prevalent estrogen, in the South River watershed located in Augusta County, Virginia from 2013 to 2015. Cattle manure, poultry litter, biosolids, septic systems, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were considered as sources of E2 in this study. The EPA's BASINS modeling framework was configured to track the fate and transport of E2. The first-order kinetics and the wash-off model were adopted to characterize the attenuation and the transport of E2. The modeling results indicated that the flow rate was a major input affecting the simulated E2 levels in the water. During storm events, E2 on the land surface was transported into the rivers by the surface runoff and the E2 released into streams was diluted by the high water flow. Variations of the simulated E2 concentrations in the South River depended on the relative magnitudes of the loads from point and nonpoint sources. Modeling results showed that E2 levels in the South River were below the lowest observable effect level (LOEL) for fish. However, the practices of storing manure before land application and fencing off rivers to keep cattle out of the water are encouraged to prevent the potential for high E2 levels in streams receiving feedlot runoff.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomin Zhao
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
| | - Wu-Seng Lung
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
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Meretsky VJ, Snyder NFR. Comment on "Terrestrial Scavenging of Marine Mammals: Cross-Ecosystem Contaminant Transfer and Potential Risks to Endangered California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus)". ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:5347-5348. [PMID: 28402656 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Vicky J Meretsky
- School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University , Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
| | - Noel F R Snyder
- School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University , Bloomington, Indiana 47405, United States
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