Abstract
The application of road salt as a deicing agent is common, but investigations of potential negative effects of salt runoff on stream salamanders have been limited. Additionally, modern stormwater management practices should influence the delivery of salt ions to streams. We used data loggers in streams draining watersheds with and without stormwater management ponds and acute 96-h LC50 tests to investigate exposure of, and road salt toxicity among, two widespread salamanders in the Eastern USA, northern dusky salamanders (Desmognathus fuscus) and northern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata). In streams below stormwater ponds, base levels of conductivity were elevated throughout the year and elevated Cl− levels led to more frequent acute and chronic exceedances of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ambient water quality criteria for Cl− when compared to streams draining watersheds with no stormwater management ponds. However, five of the six streams studied had exceedance frequencies suggesting Cl− associated with road salt application represented a persistent threat to aquatic life. Larval stream salamanders were relatively tolerant of salt, not exhibiting any lethal effects over a 96-h period until chloride levels exceeded 5000 mg/L for both species, and concentrations in streams rarely exceeded these levels and only for very short periods of time. Our results suggest road salts are not having acute lethal effects on salamanders in the streams we studied, but exceedance of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ambient water quality standards for Cl− suggest the potential for sublethal and indirect effects of Cl− on salamander populations that require further study.
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Data Availability
All data from this study are available upon request to the corresponding author.
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All R code from this study is available upon request to the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by Towson University, Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, and Towson University Graduate Student Association. Ryan Casey provided input on study design and Mark Monk assisted with ion chromatography analysis. All procedures and handling of amphibians was approved by the Towson University IACUC (protocol # SP0809RPR.03).
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Towson University Graduate School and the Towson University Graduate Student Association.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and laboratory analyses were carried out by GI. Statistical analyses were performed by GI and JWS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by GI and JWS, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Izzo, G., Ownby, D. & Snodgrass, J.W. Stream Salamanders are Relatively Tolerant of Salty Streams. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 82, 255–265 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-021-00875-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-021-00875-7