Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Developmental Stability in Amphibians as a Biological Indicator of Chemical Contamination and Other Environmental Stressors, SEER project of SIP: Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) From The Commonwealth Of Kentucky
EPA Grant Number: R829419E03Title: Developmental Stability in Amphibians as a Biological Indicator of Chemical Contamination and Other Environmental Stressors, SEER project of SIP: Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) From The Commonwealth Of Kentucky
Investigators: Whiteman, Howard H. , Loganathan, Bommanna G.
Institution: Murray State University
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2004 (Extended to September 30, 2005)
Project Amount: $165,775
RFA: EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: EPSCoR (The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research)
Objective:
The objective of this research project was to evaluate the potential for using developmental stability as a biological indicator of anthropogenic and natural stress in amphibians. Amphibians are ideal biological indicators because their semipermeable epidermis and complex life cycle expose them to multiple stressors in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Because of this, amphibians should be among the first vertebrates affected by anthropogenic stressors in either of these environments. Furthermore, some of the same stressors affecting amphibians are known to have negative effects on other species, including humans. Although we proposed to evaluate a wide range of possible stressors, a major focus of this project was to correlate amphibian developmental stability with contaminant levels accumulated in their tissues. We hypothesized that amphibian developmental stability would decrease with increased levels of anthropogenic (contaminants, land use practices) and natural (population size and density) stressors. Our specific goals were to: (1) correlate the effects of environmental stressors with amphibian developmental stability; (2) evaluate the effect of species, life history stage, trophic level, and habitat type on measures of developmental stability; and (3) develop methods for separating the effects of anthropogenic and natural stressors.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The vast majority of the work involved in this grant is now completed, with some post-grant work still required from two graduate students who will be finishing their work by December 2005. A summary of our results is described below.
Much of our work over the past few years has concentrated on bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), in part because they are large and thus provide adequate tissue for contaminant analysis, they are easy to sample, ubiquitous throughout the region, and provide an excellent model for the dual-life cycle of many amphibians. We sampled bullfrogs of various ages from several different areas in western Kentucky that we predicted would differ in terms of pollutants and thus contaminant within bullfrog tissues . These sites included those near agricultural lands (Terrapin Creek), those on forested recreation areas (Central Land Between the Lakes and the Grand Rivers ), and some of which were downwind of major industrial centers and/or Superfund sites (primarily the Grand Rivers site). Bullfrogs were captured, digitally photographed, tissue excised for later contaminant analysis, and a toe taken from adults to analyze for age differences through skeletochronology. At a later date, digital images were evaluated using morphometric software to assess levels of asymmetry at both the individual and population level.
The results of this work suggest that, in contrast to our predictions, there were no significant differences between the three sites in their total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and pesticide levels. We suspect that agricultural impacts, including the use of herbicides and pesticides as part of the management of the Land Between the Lakes and the Terrapin Creek area, may have influenced these results.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 12 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
bullfrogs, amphibians, environmental stressors, anthropogenic stressors, natural stressors, amphibian developmental stability,, Sustainable Industry/Business, RFA, Health, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecological Risk Assessment, Health Risk Assessment, EPA Region, Risk Assessments, State, amphibians, Environmental Chemistry, Monitoring/Modeling, Biochemistry, cleaner production/pollution prevention, clean technology, ecosystem health, hazardous emissions, pollution prevention, Kentucky (KY), butadiene, air emissions, environmental monitoring, amphibian bioindicator, population decline, animal model, PCB, exposure, causal mechanisms, amphibian decline, alternative materials, Region 3, biomarker measurements, air pollution, biomarker, biomarker based exposure inference, human health risk, amphibian population, pollution prevention research, biomarkersRelevant Websites:
http://www.murraystate.edu/qacd/cos/hbs/epaepscor_grant.html Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.