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In situ effects of pesticides on amphibians in the Sierra Nevada

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Abstract

For more than 20 years, conservationists have agreed that amphibian populations around the world are declining. Results obtained through laboratory or mesocosm studies and measurement of contaminant concentrations in areas experiencing declines have supported a role of contaminants in these declines. The current study examines the effects of contaminant exposure to amphibians in situ in areas actually experiencing declines. Early larval Pseudacris regilla were translocated among Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, California, USA and caged in wetlands in 2001 and 2002 until metamorphosis. Twenty contaminants were identified in tadpoles with an average of 1.3–5.9 (maximum = 10) contaminants per animal. Sequoia National Park, which had the greatest variety and concentrations of contaminants in 2001, also had tadpoles that experienced the greatest mortality, slowest developmental rates and lowest cholinesterase activities. Yosemite and Sequoia tadpoles and metamorphs had greater genotoxicity than those in Lassen during 2001, as determined by flow cytometry. In 2001 tadpoles at Yosemite had a significantly higher rate of malformations, characterized as hemimelia (shortened femurs), than those at the other two parks but no significant differences were observed in 2002. Fewer differences in contaminant types and concentrations existed among parks during 2002 compared to 2001. In 2002 Sequoia tadpoles had higher mortality and slower developmental rates but there was no difference among parks in cholinesterase activities. Although concentrations of most contaminants were below known lethal concentrations, simultaneous exposure to multiple chemicals and other stressors may have resulted in lethal and sublethal effects.

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Acknowledgments

Field assistants for this project included Erika Cowman Schetter, Shenandoah Marr, Deborah Purce, Pamela Widder and Patrick Kleeman. National Park staff including David Graber, Annie Esperanza, Harold Werner, Steve Thompson, Louise Johnson, Jonathan Arnold, and Sara Koenig provided logistical support. David Bradford and Holly Puglis provided comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Use of trade, product, or firm names does not imply U.S. Government endorsement.

Funding

This study was funded by the United States Geological Survey project “The Role of Pesticides in the Decline of Amphibians in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,” Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (USGS) from 2000–2003. Additional support was provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Division, and the Caesar Kleberg Chair in Wildlife Ecology at Texas A&M University.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Donald W. Sparling

    Present address: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Life Sciences II, MS 6504, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

  2. Deborah Cowman

    Present address: Brazos Natural History Museum, 3232 Briarcrest Rd, Bryan, TX, 77802, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA

    Donald W. Sparling & Deborah Cowman

  2. Battelle Memorial Institute, 11767 Katy Freeway, Suite 340, Houston, TX, 77079, USA

    John Bickham

  3. U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecology Research Center, Point Reyes National Seashore, Point Reyes, CA, 94956, USA

    Gary M. Fellers

  4. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, USA

    Thomas Lacher

  5. Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76798-7266, USA

    Cole W. Matson

  6. Bayer CropScience, 2 Alexander Drive, Durham, NC, 27709, USA

    Laura McConnell

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  1. Donald W. Sparling
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Correspondence to Thomas Lacher.

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Sparling, D.W., Bickham, J., Cowman, D. et al. In situ effects of pesticides on amphibians in the Sierra Nevada. Ecotoxicology 24, 262–278 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1375-7

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