Hopkins W A, Winne C T, DuRant S E
University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Wildlife Ecotoxicology and Physiological Ecology Program, PO Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA.
Environ Pollut. 2005 Feb;133(3):531-40. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2004.06.014.
Environmental contaminants have direct effects on organisms at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels, but the net results of these sub-organismal effects are only consequential to exposed populations if they alter organism-level traits that ultimately influence fitness (e.g., growth, locomotor performance, reproduction, and survival). Here, we explore the possibility that the swimming performance of neonate black swamp snakes (Seminatrix pygaea) and diamondback water snakes (Nerodia rhombifer) may be affected by exposure to carbaryl (2.5 and 5.0 mg/L). The highest concentration of carbaryl caused greater reductions in swim velocity in S. pygaea than in N. rhombifer. Most individuals recovered from the effects of carbaryl on swimming performance within 96 h, but recovery was significantly slower in S. pygaea than in N. rhombifer. We hypothesize that the sensitivity of S. pygaea may arise from its highly permeable integument compared to other natricines. Our findings suggest that performance can serve as an ecologically relevant response to contaminant exposure in reptiles and warrants further study.
环境污染物在分子、细胞和组织水平上对生物体有直接影响，但只有当这些亚生物体水平的影响改变了最终影响适合度的生物体水平特征（如生长、运动性能、繁殖和生存）时，它们对受暴露种群才会产生影响。在此，我们探讨新生黑沼泽水蛇（Seminatrix pygaea）和菱斑水蛇（Nerodia rhombifer）的游泳性能可能受到西维因（2.5毫克/升和5.0毫克/升）暴露影响的可能性。西维因的最高浓度对黑沼泽水蛇游泳速度的降低幅度大于菱斑水蛇。大多数个体在96小时内从西维因对游泳性能的影响中恢复过来，但黑沼泽水蛇的恢复速度明显慢于菱斑水蛇。我们推测，与其他游蛇科动物相比，黑沼泽水蛇的敏感性可能源于其高度可渗透的体表。我们的研究结果表明，性能可以作为爬行动物对污染物暴露的一种生态相关反应，值得进一步研究。
