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 impacted 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.     

利用SPMD技术监测珠江三角洲大气中多环芳烃

利用半渗透膜被动采样装置(SPMD),对珠江三角洲地区大气中多环芳烃进行了分季度为期一年的监测,同时在广州(GZ01站)用大流量采样器进行主动采样分析.结果表明,SPMD主要采集大气气态多环芳烃,其富集速率Rs受温度影响显著,低温更有利于SPMD对有机物的渗透富集.大气气态PAHs浓度季节差异明显,各季度平均值分别为286.0ng/m³(4～6月),322.0ng/m³(7～9月),216.4ng/m³(10～12月)和153.3ng/m³(1～3月),温度是影响气态PAHs含量高低的主因素.该区域内,污染程度呈南北低、中间高.污染源主要来自于机动车尾气的排放.     

利用SPMD技术监测珠江三角洲大气有机氯农药

利用半渗透膜装置(SPMD)对珠江三角洲地区大气有机氯农药(OCPs)进行了分季度为期1年的监测分析。结果显示,该地区大气OCPs主要为DDTs,HCHs,氯丹和甲氧基氯,DDTs的含量约占总量的62%～88%。珠江三角洲地区大气有机氯农药时空分布差异明显,OCPs含量夏季高于冬季;各地区大气有机氯农药的年均含量为3 8～27 5ng d,香港和珠海较低(平均为5 0ng d),广州(GZ01)最高,年均值达27 5ng d。大气中m(DDT) m(DDD+DDE)均大于1,表明近期该地区大气中仍有新的DDT输入,对α-HCH和α-氯丹的手性特征进行了分析,它们的旋光异构体比值(年均值)(ER(+-))分别为0 75和0 69。夏季大气与土壤中α-HCH的ER(+-)相当,而冬季大气ER(+-)要低于土壤,表明夏季大气α-HCH基本来自于土壤中α-HCH的挥发,而冬季大气α-HCH可能来自土壤挥发与外来源迁移的组合。