School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2024 Jul;43(7):1615-1626. doi: 10.1002/etc.5895. Epub 2024 Jun 5.
Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class globally. Multiple factors have been implicated in their global decline, and it has been hypothesized that interactions between stressors may be a major cause. Increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation, as a result of ozone depletion, has been identified as one such stressor. Exposure to UV radiation has been shown to have detrimental effects on amphibians and can exacerbate the effects of other stressors, such as chemical pollutants. Chemical pollution has likewise been recognized as a major factor contributing to amphibian declines, particularly, endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In this regard, 17β-trenbolone is a potent anabolic steroid used in the agricultural industry to increase muscle mass in cattle and has been repeatedly detected in the environment where amphibians live and breed. At high concentrations, 17β-trenbolone has been shown to impact amphibian survival and gonadal development. In the present study, we investigated the effects of environmentally realistic UV radiation and 17β-trenbolone exposure, both in isolation and in combination, on the morphology and behavior of tadpoles (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis). We found that neither stressor in isolation affected tadpoles, nor did we find any interactive effects. The results from our 17β-trenbolone treatment are consistent with recent research suggesting that, at environmentally realistic concentrations, tadpoles may be less vulnerable to this pollutant compared to other vertebrate classes. The absence of UV radiation-induced effects found in the present study could be due to species-specific variation in susceptibility, as well as the dosage utilized. We suggest that future research should incorporate long-term studies with multiple stressors to accurately identify the threats to, and subsequent consequences for, amphibians under natural conditions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1615-1626. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
两栖动物是全球受威胁最严重的脊椎动物类群。多种因素与它们的全球减少有关，有人假设压力源之间的相互作用可能是主要原因。由于臭氧消耗，紫外线 (UV) 辐射增加已被确定为此类压力源之一。已经表明，暴露于 UV 辐射对两栖动物有有害影响，并可能加剧其他压力源的影响，例如化学污染物。同样，化学污染已被认为是导致两栖动物减少的主要因素之一，特别是内分泌干扰化学物质。在这方面，17β-群勃龙是一种在农业中用于增加牛肌肉质量的强效合成代谢类固醇，并且在两栖动物生活和繁殖的环境中反复检测到。在高浓度下，17β-群勃龙已被证明会影响两栖动物的生存和性腺发育。在本研究中，我们研究了环境现实的 UV 辐射和 17β-群勃龙暴露的影响，包括单独和组合暴露，对蝌蚪（Limnodynastes tasmaniensis）的形态和行为的影响。我们发现，单独的压力源都不会影响蝌蚪，也没有发现任何相互作用的影响。我们的 17β-群勃龙处理结果与最近的研究结果一致，即在环境现实浓度下，与其他脊椎动物类群相比，蝌蚪可能对这种污染物的敏感性较低。在本研究中未发现 UV 辐射诱导的影响可能是由于物种特异性的易感性差异以及所使用的剂量所致。我们建议，未来的研究应将长期研究与多种压力源相结合，以准确识别自然条件下两栖动物面临的威胁以及随后的后果。Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1615-1626. © 2024 作者。环境毒理化学由 Wiley Periodicals LLC 代表 SETAC 出版。
