Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Ecotoxicology. 2012 Apr;21(3):882-7. doi: 10.1007/s10646-012-0850-2. Epub 2012 Jan 17.
Nonlethal indices of contaminant exposure can facilitate research on the accumulation and effects of contaminants in wildlife. Here, we tested the efficacy of using amputated toes ("toe clips"), a common byproduct when marking amphibians in population and genetic studies, to determine mercury (Hg) concentrations in amphibians. We examined total mercury (THg) concentrations in American toads (Bufo americanus) collected along a contamination gradient at a Hg-contaminated field site. We found significant positive correlations between toe THg and blood THg concentrations in adult males and females collected in two different years. We also found that blood and toe clips could be used to predict maternal transfer of Hg, an important mechanism of reproductive toxicity in wildlife. Maternal toe THg concentrations were more highly correlated with egg THg concentrations than were maternal blood THg concentrations. Our results indicate that amputated toes are effective for identifying Hg concentrations in amphibians.
非致死污染物暴露指标可以促进野生动物污染物积累和影响的研究。在这里，我们测试了使用截肢脚趾（“脚趾夹”）作为标记种群和遗传研究中的两栖动物的常见副产品来确定两栖动物中汞（Hg）浓度的效果。我们检测了在受汞污染的野外地点的污染梯度上收集的美洲蟾蜍（Bufo americanus）的总汞（THg）浓度。我们发现，在两年内收集的成年雄性和雌性的脚趾 THg 和血液 THg 浓度之间存在显著的正相关关系。我们还发现，血液和脚趾夹可用于预测 Hg 的母体转移，这是野生动物生殖毒性的重要机制。母体脚趾 THg 浓度与卵 THg 浓度的相关性高于母体血液 THg 浓度。我们的结果表明，截肢脚趾可有效鉴定两栖动物中的 Hg 浓度。
