Bioaccumulation of <sup>137</sup>Cs in anuran larvae utilizing a contaminated effluent canal on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site [electronic resource]
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Aiken, S.C : Oak Ridge, Tenn. :
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory ; Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy,
2019.
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| Abstract: | As a result of activities such as nuclear weapons testing, nuclear power generation and waste disposal, and nuclear accidents, radiocesium (<sup>137</sup>Cs) is a widely distributed radio-contaminant of concern that readily accumulates in exposed wildlife. Although bioaccumulation of <sup>137</sup>Cs is an important factor for understanding its fate within the environment, there are currently limited data available on bioaccumulation patterns of <sup>137</sup>Cs in amphibians, despite their widespread distribution and potential to transport contaminants between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the amount of time necessary for anuran larvae experimentally placed in a contaminated system to reach a steady-state whole-body <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration, and to determine the threshold at which that steady-state <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration occurred for tadpoles within our study system. By restricting uncontaminated bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) larvae to three experimental enclosures located along a <sup>137</sup>Cs contaminated effluent canal on the U.S. Department of Energy?s Savannah River Site, we modeled <sup>137</sup>Cs uptake through time using the von Bertalanffy modification of the Richards Model. The results of our modified Richards Model indicate that bullfrog tadpoles achieved steady-state <sup>137</sup>Cs concentrations of 3.68-4.34 Bq/g <sup>137</sup>Cs dry whole-body weight after 11.63-15.50 days of exposure among sampling sites, with an average of 3.94 Bq/g after 14.07 days exposure. Radiocesium accumulation in bullfrog tadpoles was more rapid than that reported for other biota studied from other contaminated systems, likely due to incidental ingestion of sediments and a diet consisting of periphyton and other items that accumulate high levels of <sup>137</sup>Cs. Furthermore, given their rapid accumulation of <sup>137</sup>Cs and inability to leave aquatic environments prior to metamorphosis, our data suggest amphibian larvae may be useful indicators for monitoring <sup>137</sup>Cs distributions and bioavailability within aquatic systems. |
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| Item Description: | Published through Scitech Connect. 03/05/2019. "Journal ID: ISSN 0265-931X." "Other: 1460940." Leaphart, James C. ; Wilms, Kaitlin C. ; Bryan, Jr., A. Lawrence ; Beasley, James C. ; USDOE. |
| Physical Description: | Size: p. 25-29 : digital, PDF file. |