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1 March 2006 Using Anurans as Bioindicators of PCB Contaminated Streams
Colette J. DeGarady, Richard S. Halbrook
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Abstract

Because polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) persist in the environment and are lipophilic they can accumulate in wildlife. Little is known about accumulation or effects of PCBs in anurans; therefore, we chose them for study at a PCB contaminated Superfund site. We wanted to determine which anuran species and life stages were the best indicators of PCB accumulation in outfalls (drainage ditches) flowing from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP), Paducah, Kentucky, and how PCB accumulation might affect individuals. We measured PCBs (Aroclor 1260) in captured adult anurans of various species. A total of 60 adults of six different species were captured among all study sites. Juvenile anurans had greater concentrations of PCBs than adults (P < 0.001); however, there were no differences in PCB accumulation among species in either adults (P = 0.103) or juveniles (P = 0.584). The results of this study indicate that juvenile anurans accumulated greater concentrations of PCBs compared to adults collected from the same stream locations and that juveniles appear to be useful indicators of PCB contamination in aquatic systems. No adverse effects were observed in captured anurans.

Colette J. DeGarady and Richard S. Halbrook "Using Anurans as Bioindicators of PCB Contaminated Streams," Journal of Herpetology 40(1), 127-130, (1 March 2006). https://doi.org/10.1670/30-05N.1
Accepted: 1 December 2005; Published: 1 March 2006
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