ACUTE EMBRYOTOXIC EFFECTS BUT NO LONG-TERM REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS OF IN OVO METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE IN ZEBRA FINCHES (TAENIOPYGIA GUTTATA)
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| Authors: | Yu, MS; Eng, ML; Williams, TD; Basu, N; Elliottz, JE |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Journal: | Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 35: 1534-1540 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | ACUTE EMBRYOTOXIC EFFECTS BUT NO LONG-TERM REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS OF IN OVO METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE IN ZEBRA FINCHES (TAENIOPYGIA GUTTATA) |
| Abstract: | Mercury bioaccumulates in terrestrial ecosystems as methylmercury (MeHg), yet little is known about its effects on terrestrial organisms, including songbirds. The authors used a model songbird species, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), to assess short-term embryotoxic effects of in ovo MeHg exposure on hatching success and posthatching growth and nestling survival, as well as longer-term effects on mating behavior and reproduction. Egg treatment groups included a low-MeHg dose of 0.2 mg Hg g(-1) egg (n = 36), a high-MeHg dose of 3.2 mg Hg g(-1) egg (n = 49), and a control (n = 34). Doses were dissolved in nanopure filtered water and injected into the albumen on the day eggs showed signs of viability (3 d incubation). In ovo exposure to MeHg significantly reduced hatching success (53% in the high-MeHg dose group vs 94% in vehicle controls). Among hatched chicks, however, no effects of MeHg on growth, hematological variables, or nestling survival were detected. While the in ovo injection method resulted in a dose-dependent pattern of MeHg concentrations in blood of surviving chicks at 15 d and 30 d posthatching, there was evidence of rapid excretion of MeHg with nestling age during that growth period. At reproductive maturity (90 d of age), no long-term effects of in ovo exposure to MeHg on female mating behavior, reproductive effort (egg or clutch size), or growth and survivorship of offspring were observed. (C) 2015 SETAC |
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