Effects of two little-studied environmental pollutants on early development in anurans.

摘要: Abstract Despite intensive ecotoxicological research, we still know relatively little about the ecological impacts of many environmental contaminants. Filling these knowledge gaps is particularly important regarding amphibians, because they play significant roles in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, their populations are declining worldwide. In this study, investigated two pollutants that have been poorly studied ecotoxicology despite widespread occurrence surface waters: herbicide terbuthylazine pharmaceutical drug carbamazepine. We exposed anuran species throughout larval development to each environmentally relevant concentrations pollutant, recorded mortality 17 sub-lethal endpoints up several months after exposure. Mortality was low unrelated treatment. agile frogs (Rana dalmatina), found treatment with 0.3 μg/L decreased tadpole activity reduced fat bodies juveniles, whereas 50 μg/L carbamazepine spleen size increased pigmentation. common toads (Bufo bufo), 0.003 μg/L body mass at metamorphosis, optic tecta, 0.5 μg/L hypothalamus size. Treatment feeding toad tadpoles, production anti-predatory bufadienolide toxins, metamorphosis; juvenile group had Neither treatments affected time post-metamorphic mass, or sex ratios significantly. These results show levels both can effects on anurans, which may be detrimental individual fitness population persistence natural conditions. Our findings further highlight toxic cannot generalized between chemicals similar structure, do not conform previously reported atrazine, a related extensively herbicide.