TY - JOUR
T1 - Metals and organochlorine pesticides in caudal scutes of crocodiles from Belize and Costa Rica
AU - Rainwater, Thomas R.
AU - Wu, Ted H.
AU - Finger, Adam G.
AU - Cañas, Jaclyn E.
AU - Yu, Lu
AU - Reynolds, Kevin D.
AU - Coimbatore, Gopal
AU - Barr, Brady
AU - Platt, Steven G.
AU - Cobb, George P.
AU - Anderson, Todd A.
AU - McMurry, Scott T.
N1 - Funding Information:
In Belize, we thank the Belize Ministry of Natural Resources for issuing the necessary scientific collection permits, Robert Noonan (Gold Button Ranch) for providing access to his property, and Lamanai Outpost Lodge/Lamanai Field Research Center for providing logistical support and accommodations at New River Watershed during this study. Ruben Arevalo, Tanny Brown, Benjamin Cruz, Jennifer Dever, Steve Lawson, Lewis Medlock, and Thomas Rhott assisted in the field. In Costa Rica, we thank the Costa Rica Ministry of Atmosphere and Energy for issuing scientific collection permits and Juan Bolanos and Laura Porras for assistance in the field. This research was supported by Lamanai Field Research Center, National Geographic Society, U.S. EPA (Grant no. R826310 to STM), and Texas Tech University. SGP was supported by Wildlife Conservation Society. Additional support for JEC, KDR, and TRR was provided by the ARCS Foundation, Lubbock, Texas.
PY - 2007/2/1
Y1 - 2007/2/1
N2 - Despite high animal diversity in the Neotropics and the largely unregulated use and disposal of pesticides and industrial chemicals in Central America, few data exist regarding accumulation of environmental contaminants in Central American wildlife. In this study we examined accumulation of metals and organochlorine (OC) pesticides in caudal scutes of crocodiles from Belize and Costa Rica. Scutes from Morelet's crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletii) from two sites in northern Belize were analyzed for metals, and scutes from American crocodiles (C. acutus) from one site in Costa Rica were analyzed for metals and OC pesticides. All scutes (n = 25; one scute from each of 25 individuals) contained multiple contaminants. Mercury was the predominant metal detected, occurring in all scutes examined from both species. Other metals detected include cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. American crocodile scutes from Costa Rica contained multiple OC pesticides, including endrin, methoxychlor, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDT, all of which occurred in 100% of scutes analyzed (n = 6). Mean metal and OC concentrations varied in relation to those previously reported in crocodilian scutes from other localities in North, Central, and South America. OC concentrations in American crocodile scutes were generally higher than those previously reported for other Costa Rican wildlife. Currently, caudal scutes may serve as general, non-lethal indicators of contaminant accumulation in crocodilians and their areas of occurrence. However, a better understanding of the relationships between pollutant concentrations in scutes, internal tissues, and environmental matrices at sample collection sites are needed to improve the utility of scutes in future ecotoxicological investigations.
AB - Despite high animal diversity in the Neotropics and the largely unregulated use and disposal of pesticides and industrial chemicals in Central America, few data exist regarding accumulation of environmental contaminants in Central American wildlife. In this study we examined accumulation of metals and organochlorine (OC) pesticides in caudal scutes of crocodiles from Belize and Costa Rica. Scutes from Morelet's crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletii) from two sites in northern Belize were analyzed for metals, and scutes from American crocodiles (C. acutus) from one site in Costa Rica were analyzed for metals and OC pesticides. All scutes (n = 25; one scute from each of 25 individuals) contained multiple contaminants. Mercury was the predominant metal detected, occurring in all scutes examined from both species. Other metals detected include cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. American crocodile scutes from Costa Rica contained multiple OC pesticides, including endrin, methoxychlor, p,p′-DDE, and p,p′-DDT, all of which occurred in 100% of scutes analyzed (n = 6). Mean metal and OC concentrations varied in relation to those previously reported in crocodilian scutes from other localities in North, Central, and South America. OC concentrations in American crocodile scutes were generally higher than those previously reported for other Costa Rican wildlife. Currently, caudal scutes may serve as general, non-lethal indicators of contaminant accumulation in crocodilians and their areas of occurrence. However, a better understanding of the relationships between pollutant concentrations in scutes, internal tissues, and environmental matrices at sample collection sites are needed to improve the utility of scutes in future ecotoxicological investigations.
KW - American crocodile
KW - Belize
KW - Central America
KW - Costa Rica
KW - Metals
KW - Morelet's crocodile
KW - Non-lethal sampling
KW - Organochlorine pesticides
KW - Scutes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33846241666&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.11.010
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.11.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 17182086
AN - SCOPUS:33846241666
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 373
SP - 146
EP - 156
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
IS - 1
ER -