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Use of Skin and Blood as Nonlethal Indicators of Heavy Metal Contamination in Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

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Abstract

Relatively little is known about contaminants in reptiles, particularly snakes. The concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium were examined in blood and skin of 46 northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) in Tennessee and correlated with concentrations in internal tissues (liver, kidney, muscle) to determine if blood or skin could serve as a nonlethal indicator of internal metal exposure or body burden. Snakes were collected from the East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) within the United States Department of Energy’s Y-12 National Security Complex (part of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and from a reference stretch of the Little River in East Tennessee. For blood, the only consistent positive correlations with internal organs were for mercury, and correlations were low except for muscle. Skin showed significant positive correlations with all three organs for mercury, chromium, selenium, and lead. For manganese and cadmium, skin level was positively correlated with liver level. Blood generally reflects recent exposure, not necessarily body burden, but in water snakes it correlates with body burden for mercury. Skin proved useful for more metals, although patterns were not necessarily consistent across sex and locality subgroups. The most consistent pattern was for mercury, the metal of greatest concern in many aquatic ecosystems, including EFPC.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted under Oak Ridge National Laboratory Animal Care and Use Protocol No. 0287 and Rutgers University Protocol No. 97-017. Water snakes were collected under Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Scientific Collection Permit Nos. 1688–01 and 1688–02. This research was funded by the Consortium for Risk Evaluation With Stakeholder Participation through the USDOE (AI No. DE-FC01-95EW55084 and DE-FG26–00NT-40938) and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ESO 5022). We thank Paul Andreadis, R. Jason Dickey, Pat Parr, Mark Peterson, Mike Ryon, Greg Sievert, and Warren Webb for logistical support or help in collecting water snakes. Special thanks are due Mick Wiest for coordination at the Y-12 National Security Complex and for assistance with collecting snakes and to Dorcas O’Rourke for extensive assistance with animal care issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    J Burger, K.R Campbell, T.S Campbell, T Shukla, C Jeitner & M Gochfeld

  2. Division of Life Sciences, Nelson Biological Laboratory, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    J Burger, T Shukla & C Jeitner

  3. Biological Research Associates, 3910 US Highway 301 North, Suite 180, Tampa, FL, 33619, USA

    K.R Campbell

  4. Department of Biology, University of Tampa, 401 West Kennedy Boulevard, Box 3F, Tampa, FL, 33606–1490, USA

    T.S Campbell

  5. Environmental and Community Medicine, UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    M Gochfeld

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  1. J Burger
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  2. K.R Campbell
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  3. T.S Campbell
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  4. T Shukla
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  5. C Jeitner
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  6. M Gochfeld
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Correspondence to J Burger.

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Burger, J., Campbell, K., Campbell, T. et al. Use of Skin and Blood as Nonlethal Indicators of Heavy Metal Contamination in Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 49, 232–238 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0098-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0098-9

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