Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010 Feb;58(2):325-31. doi: 10.1007/s00244-009-9373-0. Epub 2009 Aug 14.
Stormwater ponds are common features of modern stormwater management practices. Stormwater ponds often retain standing water for extended periods of time, develop vegetative characteristics similar to natural wetlands, and attract wildlife. However, because stormwater ponds are designed to capture pollutants, wildlife that utilize ponds might be exposed to pollutants and suffer toxicological effects. To investigate the toxicity of stormwater pond sediments to Hyla versicolor, an anuran commonly found using retention ponds for breeding, we exposed embryos and larvae to sediments in laboratory microcosms. Exposure to pond sediments reduced survival of embryos by approximately 50% but did not affect larval survival. Larvae exposed to stormwater pond sediment developed significantly faster (x = 39 days compared to 42 days; p = 0.005) and were significantly larger at metamorphosis (x = 0.49 g compared to 0.36 g; p < 0.001) than controls that were exposed to clean sand. Substantial amounts (712-2215 mg/l) of chloride leached from pond sediments into the water column of treatment microcosms; subsequently, survival of embryos was negatively correlated (r (2) = 0.50; p < 0.001) with water conductivity during development. Our results, along with the limited number of other toxicological studies of stormwater ponds, suggest that road salt contributes to the degradation of stormwater pond habitat quality for amphibian reproduction and that future research should focus on understanding interactions among road salts and other pollutants and stressors characteristic of urban environments.
雨水池塘是现代雨水管理实践中的常见特征。雨水池塘通常会保留长时间的静水，发展出类似于自然湿地的植被特征，并吸引野生动物。然而，由于雨水池塘的设计目的是捕获污染物，因此利用池塘的野生动物可能会接触到污染物并遭受毒理学效应。为了研究雨水池塘沉积物对常见的利用保留池塘进行繁殖的斑蟾的毒性，我们将胚胎和幼虫暴露在实验室微生境中的沉积物中。暴露于池塘沉积物会使胚胎的存活率降低约 50%，但不会影响幼虫的存活率。暴露于雨水池塘沉积物的幼虫发育得更快（x = 39 天，而对照为 42 天；p = 0.005），在变态时也更大（x = 0.49 克，而对照为 0.36 克；p < 0.001）。大量（712-2215 毫克/升）的氯化物从池塘沉积物中浸出到处理微生境的水柱中；随后，胚胎的存活率与发育过程中的水导电性呈负相关（r (2) = 0.50；p < 0.001）。我们的结果，以及其他为数不多的雨水池塘毒理学研究，表明道路盐会导致雨水池塘生境质量下降，从而影响两栖动物的繁殖，未来的研究应重点关注了解道路盐与其他污染物和城市环境特征的应激因素之间的相互作用。
