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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
USGS2004

Assessing the toxicity and teratogenicity of pond water in north-central Minnesota to amphibians

Background Incidence of amphibian deformities have increased in recent years, especially in the northern region of the United States. While many factors have been proposed as being responsible for generating deformities (e.g., contaminants, ultraviolet radiation [UV], parasites), no single cause has been definitively established. Methods To determine whether waterborne chemicals are responsible for amphibian deformities in ponds in north-central Minnesota, we deployed semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) in an imparted and a reference site to accumulate lipophilic contaminants. We then exposed native tadpoles (northern leopard frogs; Rana pipiens ) to the SPMD extracts combined with two agricultural pesticides (atrazine, carbaryl) at two levels of UV radiation. Results and Discussion UV radiation alone caused a slight increase in hatching success and tadpole growth rate. Deformity rate among hatchlings was high following exposure to SPMD extracts from the reference site in the absence of UV, suggesting that chemicals present at this site are broken down by UV to less harmful forms, or become less bioavailable. Conversely, impacted site SPMD extracts caused hatchling deformities only in the presence of UV, suggesting that UV potentiates the teratogenicity of the compounds present there. Impacted site SPMD extracts significantly increased the number of bony triangles among metamorphs, a common deformity observed at this site. The incidence of skin webbings increased significantly with SPMD extracts from both sites as well as with our pesticide control containing atrazine and carbaryl alone. Conclusions Higher deformity rates among tadpoles reared in the presence of UV radiation and SPMD extracts from sites where deformities are common indicates a chemical compound (or compounds) in the water at this site may be causing the deformities. Recommendations and Outlook It is important to examine the effects of chemical stressors in the presence of other natural stressors (e.g., UV radiation) to gain a better understanding of how multiple stressors work to impact amphibians and amphibian populations.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research↗
USGS2011

Chronic toxicity of erythromycin thiocyanate to Daphnia magna in a flow-through, continuous exposure test system

Approval of a new animal drug application for AQUAMYCIN 100 ® (erythromycin thiocyanate; ET) to treat freshwater salmonid species with bacterial kidney disease is being pursued in the US. As part of the approval process, ET’s impact on an aquatic environment had to be described in an environmental assessment. The environmental assessment was lacking data to characterize the effect ET would have on a chronically exposed aquatic invertebrate organism. A major step to fulfilling the environmental assessment was completed after conducting a comprehensive study continuously exposing Daphnia magna to ET for 21 days. Results indicated that the no observable effect concentration for ET was 179 μg/L.

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS2014

Trace elements in seep waters along Whitewood Creek, South Dakota, and their toxicity to fathead minnows

Whitewood Creek, located in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota, has a long history of contamination from mining activity. Gold exploration began in the 1870s, and has continued since that time. Whitewood Creek received direct releases of tailings from 1870 to 1977 from Gold Run Creek in Lead, SD. It has been estimated that approximately 100 million to 1 billion tons of mining, milling, and ore processing wastes have been released by mining activity in the last century in to Whitewood Creek, the Belle Fourche river, and the Cheyenne River (Fox Consultants, Inc. 1984). Tailings deposition has altered the geomorphology of Whitewood Creek, and deposits up to 4.6 m. deep, have become stabilized by vegetation. Several other streams in the Black Hills also have been adversely affected by mining operations (Rahn 1996). As water leaches through rock strata that are disturbed by surface and subsurface mining, it dissolves inorganic elements and carries them to the groundwater. Groundwater movement through the extensive tailings deposits in the Whitewood Creek valley enter the creek at various seeps along its downstream course to the Belle Fourche river, and the Belle Fourche River itself, which empties into the Cheyenne River and eventually into Lake Oahe.

South Dakota↗
USGS2005

Chronic toxicity of un-ionized ammonia to early life-stages of endangered Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) compared to the surrogate fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

Ammonia-contaminated groundwater enters the Upper Colorado River from beneath the abandoned Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Pile near Moab, Utah. This reach of the Upper Colorado River was designated as critical habitat for four endangered fish species because it is one of the few existing areas with known spawning and rearing habitats. Un-ionized ammonia (NH3) concentrations frequently exceed 1.00 mg/L in backwaters adjacent to the tailings pile, which exceeds the Utah 30-d average chronic water quality criterion for un-ionized ammonia (0.07 mg/L NH3; temperature 20??C; pH 8.2) by a factor of more than 10. However, there is little published information regarding the sensitivity of endangered fishes to ammonia. We conducted 28-d static renewal studies with post-swim-up larvae to determine the relative sensitivity of Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), and the standard surrogate fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to NH3. Chronic values (ChVs) for mortality and growth were determined as the geometric mean of the no observed effect concentration and the lowest observed effect concentration based on analysis of variance. The ChVs for growth of fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker were 0.43, 0.40, and 0.67 mg/L NH3, respectively. The ChVs for mortality of fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker were 0.43, 0.70, and 0.67 mg/L NH3, respectively. Therefore, the ChVs for mortality and growth were similar for fathead minnow and razorback sucker; however, the ChV for growth was lower than the ChV for mortality for Colorado pikeminnow. Maximum likelihood regression was used to calculate 28-d lethal concentrations (LCx) for each species. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for fathead minnow were 0.69, 0.42, and 0.13 mg/L NH3, respectively. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for Colorado pikeminnow were 0.76, 0.61, and 0.38 mg/L NH3, respectively. The 28-d LC50, LC20, and LC1 values for razorback sucker were 0.54, 0.38, and 0.25 mg/L NH3, respectively. The fathead minnow, Colorado pikeminnow, and razorback sucker are relatively similar in sensitivity and rank at the 35th, 49th, and 31st percentiles, respectively, of the theoretical chronic fish sensitivity distributions for NH3. The existing water quality criteria for NH3, if met by remediation activities at the Moab site, would be protective of these endangered fishes even if fish sensitivity is based on the conservative LC1 value. ?? 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS2007

Effects of acclimation on the toxicity of stream water contaminated with zinc and cadmium to juvenile cutthroat trout

We investigated the influence of acclimation on results of in situ bioassays with cutthroat trout in metal-contaminated streams. Cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) were held for 21 days (1) in live containers at a reference or "clean" site having dissolved metals near detection limits (0.01 ??g/L cadmium [Cd] and 2.8 ??g/L zinc [Zn]; hardness 32 mg/L as CaCO3) and (2) at a site in a mining-impacted watershed having moderately increased metals (0.07 ??g/L Cd and 38 to 40 ??g/L Zn; hardness 50 mg/L as CaCO3). The 96-hour survival of each treatment group was then tested in situ at five sites from September 5 to 9, 2002, and each group exhibited a range of metal concentrations (0.44 to 39 ??g/L arsenic [As], 0.01 to 2.2 ??g/L Cd, and 0.49 to 856 ??g/L Zn). Survival was 100% at three sites for both treatments. However, a higher percentage of metal-acclimated fish survived at the site with the second highest concentrations of Cd and Zn (0.90 and 238 ??g/L, respectively) compared with fish acclimated at the reference site (100% vs. 55%, respectively). Survival was 65% for acclimated fish and 0% for metal-nai??ve fish at the site with the largest metal concentrations (2.2 ??g/L Cd and 856 ??g/L Zn). Water collected from the site with the largest concentrations of dissolved metals (on October 30, 2002) was used in a laboratory serial dilution to determine 96-hour LC50 values. The 96-hour LC50 estimates of nai??ve fish during the in situ and laboratory experiments were similar (0.60 ??g Cd/L and 226 ??g Zn/L for in situ and 0.64 ??g Cd/L and 201 ??g Zn/L for laboratory serial dilutions). However, mortality of nai??ve cutthroat trout tested under laboratory conditions was more rapid in dilutions of 100%, 75%, and 38% site water than in situ experiments. ?? 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1998

Assessing sediment toxicity from navigational pools of the Upper Mississippi River using a 28-day Hyalella azteca test

To assess the extent of sediment contamination in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) system after the flood of 1993, sediment samples were collected from 24 of the 26 navigational pools in the river and from one site in the Saint Croix River in the summer of 1994. Whole-sediment tests were conducted with the amphipod Hyalella azteca for 28 days measuring the effects on survival, growth, and sexual maturation. Amphipod survival was significantly reduced in only one sediment (13B) relative to the control and reference sediments. Body length of amphipods was significantly reduced relative to the control and reference sediments in only one sample (26C). Sexual maturation was not significantly reduced in any treatment when compared to the control and reference sediments. No significant correlations were observed between survival, growth, and maturation to either the physical or chemical characteristics of the sediment samples from the river. When highly reliable effect range medians (ERMs) were used to evaluate sediment chemistry, 47 of 49 (96%) of the samples were correctly classified as nontoxic. These results indicate that sediment samples from the Upper Mississippi River are relatively uncontaminated compared to other areas of known contamination in the United States.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1970

Toxicity of DDT to Japanese quail as influenced by body weight, breeding condition, and sex

Controlled experiments were utilized to simulate the stresses on wild birds of breeding condition and of weight loss due to migration. Light conditions in the laboratory were manipulated to produce Japanese quail ( Coturnix coturnix japonica ) in breeding condition and not in breeding condition. Within each of these groups, some birds were partially starved before dosage and some were fully fed. Birds were then fed dietary levels of 0, 700, 922, 1214, or 1600 ppm dry weight of p,p′ -DDT for a period of 20 days or until death. Birds partially starved before dosage were more susceptible to DDT intoxication than nonstarved ones, and birds not in breeding condition were slightly more so than birds in breeding condition. Similarly, males died earlier than females, and the birds of the lighter weight strain used in the second half of the study died earlier than the birds of the heavier strain used in the first half. The heavier birds of each sex not only survived longer than lighter individuals receiving the same treatments, but they also lost a greater proportion of their weight before death. During the early portion of the dosage period, females in breeding condition were less sensitive to DDT than were females not in breeding condition and males. After 10 days on dosage, however, the cumulative mortality of females in breeding condition rapidly approached that of males and of females not in breeding condition. Food restriction prior to dosage, strains of quail, breeding conditions, and sexes resulted in weight differences and a corresponding accentuation or delay of the effects of the different levels of DDT.

Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology↗
USGS1977

DDE increased the toxicity of parathion to coturnix quail

Adult male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) were exposed to DDE or chlordane in the diet and subsequently dosed with parathion or paraoxon. Pretreatment with 5 or 50 ppm DDE in the diet for 12 weeks resulted in increased cholinesterase (ChE) activity in plasma, but not in the brain. Dietary concentrations of 5 and 50 ppm DDE caused increased susceptibility of quail that were challenged with parathion or paraoxon. The increased mortality resulting from DDE pretreatment was reflected in brain ChE inhibition. The synergistic action of DDE was apparent after 3 days of exposure to 50 ppm DDE and 1 week of exposure to 5 ppm DDE. Birds exposed for 3 weeks to 5 or 50 ppm DDE retained their DDE-potentiated sensitivity to parathion after 2 weeks on clean diet. Chlordane pretreatment resulted in decreased susceptibility (antagonism) to parathion, but not to paraoxon dosage. Implications of differing responses in ChE and mortality among controls, DDE-, and chlordane-pretreated birds after parathion or paraoxon dosage are discussed.

Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology↗
USGS1993

Toxicity and bioaccumulation of waterborne and dietary selenium in juvenile bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus )

Juvenile bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ) were exposed to waterborne selenium as a 6:1 mixture of selenate to selenite (as Se) for 60 d and to dietary seleno- l -methionine for 90 d. Measured concentrations of total selenium in the waterborne exposure ranged from 0.16 to 2.8 mg/l, and concentrations of seleno- l -methionine in the test diet ranged from 2.3 to 25.0 mg/kg wet weight. Mortality, body weight, condition factor, swimming and feeding behavior, aggression, and selenium tissue residues were monitored during the tests. Increased mortality at measured concentrations of 0.64 mg Se/l and greater was the primary adverse effect of waterborne selenium on the juvenile bluegill. Bluegill exposed to 2.8 mg/l of waterborne Se for 30 d exhibited a significant reduction in condition factor ( K ), whereas dietary exposure of bluegill to 25 mg Se/kg for 30 d and 13 mg Se/kg or greater for 90 d elicited significant reductions in K . Mortality and swimming activity of bluegill were not affected in the dietary exposure. Net accumulation of Se from both water and diet was directly related to exposure concentration. Bioconcentration factors ranged from 5 to 7 for bluegill exposed to waterborne Se and from 0.5 to 1.0 for fish exposed to dietary Se. Results of these laboratory tests indicate that survival of bluegill may be impaired in natural waters with elevated Se concentrations.

Aquatic Toxicology↗
USGS1995

Toxicity of crude oil to the mayfly, Hexagenia bilineata (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae)

Effects of crude oil on survival and behavior of the mayfly Hexagenia bilineata were evaluated in laboratory studies. Mayfly nymphs were exposed to the water soluble and oil residue fractions of crude oil. Mayfly survival was not reduced by a 96-h exposure to either the water soluble fraction or the oil residue mixed with sediment. However, significant mortality did result from a 21-day exposure to oil residue mixed with sediment at concentrations as low as 500 μg g −1 . Survival was also reduced after a 21-day exposure to oil-contaminated sediments (1905 μg g −1 ) collected 6 weeks after a crude oil spill in the Chariton River, Missouri. In a behavioral test measuring habitat exclusion, organisms did not avoid contact with sediment containing oil residue (50–800 μg g −1 ). Collectively, results from these studies indicate that exposure to oil residue in sediment will reduce survival of H. bilineata in the laboratory and may reduce survival in the environment for 6 weeks or more after an oil spill,

Environmental Pollution↗