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Chloride Toxicity to Native Freshwater Species in Natural and Reconstituted Prairie Pothole Waters

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Abstract

Oil and gas extraction in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the northern USA has resulted in elevated chloride concentrations in ground and surface water due to widespread contamination with highly saline produced water, or brine. The toxicity of chloride is poorly understood in the high hardness waters characteristic of the region. We evaluated the toxicity of chloride to two endemic species, Daphnia magna (water flea) and Lemna gibba (duckweed), exposed in field-collected waters (hardness ~ 3000 mg/L as CaCO3) and reconstituted waters (hardness 370 mg/L as CaCO3) intended to mimic PPR background waters. We also investigated the role of chloride in the toxicity of water reconstituted to mimic legacy brine-contaminated wetlands, using two populations of native Pseudacris maculata (Boreal Chorus Frog). Chloride toxicity was similar in field-collected and reconstituted waters for both D. magna (LC50s 3070–3788 mg Cl−1/L) and L. gibba (IC50s 2441–2887). Although hardness can ameliorate chloride toxicity at low to high hardness, we did not observe additional protection as hardness increased from 370 to ~ 3000 mg/L. In P. maculata exposures, chloride did not fully explain toxicity. Chloride sensitivity also differed between populations, with mortality at 2000 mg Cl−/L in one population but not the other, and population-specific growth responses. Overall, these results (1) document toxicity to native species at chloride concentrations occurring in the PPR, (2) indicate that very high hardness in the region’s waters may not provide additional protection against chloride and (3) highlight challenges of brine investigations, including whether surrogate study populations are representative of local populations.

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Fig. 1

source locations for the P. maculata populations. FWS = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

source population near Moran, Teton County, Wyoming. MO indicates tadpoles came from a source population in Sullivan County, Missouri

Fig. 4

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Acknowledgements

The co-authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments that improved this manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge Todd Preston for assistance in creating a figure for this paper as well as providing a critical review of the manuscript. For assistance with data collection, we would like to thank Erinn Scott, Samantha Tidwell, Taylor Tidwell, Christina Mackey, Danielle Cleveland and the CERC Inorganic Chemistry Team, Callahan Jobe, and Paige Anderson. We would also like to thank Blake Hossack and Leah Swartz for Wyoming amphibian embryo collection. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Funding

Funding was provided by the USGS Environmental Health Program.

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  1. David D. Harper, Holly J. Puglis and Bethany K. Kunz have contributed equally to the work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia Environmental Research Center – Jackson Field Research Station, U.S. Geological Survey, Jackson, WY, USA

    David D. Harper & Aїda M. Farag

  2. Columbia Environmental Research Center, U.S Geological Survey, Columbia, MO, USA

    Holly J. Puglis & Bethany K. Kunz

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  1. David D. Harper
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All research was conducted following USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines. Research with Pseudacris maculata was approved under IACUC No.:18–020.

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Harper, D.D., Puglis, H.J., Kunz, B.K. et al. Chloride Toxicity to Native Freshwater Species in Natural and Reconstituted Prairie Pothole Waters. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 82, 416–428 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-022-00927-6

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