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Effects of chronic polychlorinated biphenyls exposure on reproductive success of white-footed mice (peromyscus leucopus)

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Abstract

Reproductive success was impaired in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) chronically exposed to food treated at a rate of 10 ppm (μg/g) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (Aroclor® 1254). Mice in which PCBs exposure was initiated at adulthood (wild-caught and subsequently paired) and laboratory-raised mice paired and first exposed to PCBs-treated food at 16 weeks of age weaned significantly smaller numbers of young. Other parameters of reproductive success (interval between births, litter size at birth) were unaffected.

Laboratory-raised white-footed mice paired and first exposed to PCBs-treated food at 12 weeks of age exhibited longer intervals between births, smaller litter sizes at birth, and smaller litter sizes at weaning.

These results suggest that exposure to PCBs-contaminated natural foods can contribute to declines in natural populations of white-footed mice by reducing the number of young mice entering the breeding population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 15705, Indiana, Pennsylvania

    Alicia V. Linzey

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  1. Alicia V. Linzey
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Linzey, A.V. Effects of chronic polychlorinated biphenyls exposure on reproductive success of white-footed mice (peromyscus leucopus). Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 16, 455–460 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055267

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055267

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