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Selenium Burdens In Painted Turtles (Chrysemys Picta), Holly A. Gerberding
Selenium Burdens In Painted Turtles (Chrysemys Picta), Holly A. Gerberding
Honors Thesis
Tile drain systems are a critical advancement in agriculture that move excess water from crop fields to streams, ditches, and wetlands. Selenium is a necessary mineral but is considered toxic at high levels. Previous research indicates that wetlands with tile drains are at a higher risk for elevated selenium concentrations. Selenium enters the aquatic ecosystem via these tile systems and us taken up by invertebrates and continues to bioaccumulate mainly via direct transfer in higher trophic level taxa such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. For this study, painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) served as a model organism to …
Detection Of Neonicotinoids In Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) Brains, Peyton G. Keller
Detection Of Neonicotinoids In Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) Brains, Peyton G. Keller
Honors Thesis
Neonicotinoids are widespread and commonly used to fight agricultural pests. Unfortunately, these neurotoxic insecticides commonly reach nearby wetlands due to tile drainage systems and agricultural runoff. Non-target organisms, such as amphibians, use wetlands as habitat and are likely exposed to elevated neonicotinoid levels. We collected Northern leopard frogs and water samples from control and tile wetlands to compare imidacloprid brain concentrations and subsequent changes in brain morphology. Additionally, a lab-based experiment was conducted to further analyze the ability of imidacloprid and its metabolite, imidacloprid-olefin, to cross the blood-brain barrier. Tile wetlands had higher aquatic imidacloprid concentrations. Subsequently, amphibians collected from …