Maternal transfer of selenium in Alligator mississippiensis nesting downstream from a coal-burning power plant

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. 1969 - 1972
• Main Authors: Roe, John H., Hopkins, William A., Baionno, Jennifer A., Staub, Brandon P., Rowe, Christopher L., Jackson, Brian P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.08.2004; SETAC
• Subjects: Alligator mississippiensis; Alligators and Crocodiles - embryology; Alligators and Crocodiles - physiology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Chorioallantoic membrane; Coal; Crocodylia; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates; Environmental Monitoring; Female; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Incineration; Maternal transfer; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Ovum - chemistry; Power Plants; Pregnancy; Reptilia. Amphibia; Selenium; Selenium - pharmacokinetics; Nesting site; Power plant; Ecotoxicology; Toxicity; Crocodilia; Alligator mississippiensis Chorioallantoic membrane Crocodylia Maternal transfer Selenium; Pollutant; Reproduction; Vertebrata; Mother embryonal transfer; Mother young relation; Alligator mississippiensis; Coal; Coal power plant; Reptilia; Selenium
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1897/03-520

Selenium (Se) is embryotoxic in many oviparous vertebrates, but little is known about maternal transfer of Se and its impact in reptiles. Over a four‐year period, we collected three clutches of eggs of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) from a single nest at a site contaminated with Se and compared egg and hatchling Se concentrations and clutch viability from this nest to nests downstream from the contaminated site (two clutches from two nests) and at a reference site (two clutches from two nests). Eggs and hatchlings from the nest at the Se‐contaminated site and downstream nests had elevated Se concentrations (2.1–7.8 ppm) and lower viability (30–54%) compared to reference nests (1.4–2.3 ppm and 67–74% viability), but Se concentrations did not exceed reproductive toxicity thresholds established for other oviparous vertebrates. Selenium concentrations were higher in chorioallantoic membranes of eggs from Se‐contaminated sites, suggesting that this tissue may be useful as a nondestructive index of Se exposure for embryos of A. mississippiensis. Examination of these data suggests that further studies on uptake, accumulation, and reproductive success of crocodilian embryos exposed to excessive Se are warranted.