Chronic Per‐/Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Under Environmentally Relevant Conditions Delays Development in Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) Larvae. (29th March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Flynn, R. Wesley; Iacchetta, Michael; de Perre, Chloe; Lee, Linda; Sepúlveda, Maria S.; Hoverman, Jason T.
• Other Names: Johnson Mark S. guestEditor.; Buck Robert C. guestEditor.; Cousins Ian T. guestEditor.; Weis Christopher P. guestEditor.; Fenton Suzanne E. guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Environmental toxicology and chemistry. Volume 40:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 711
• Page End: 716
• Publication Date: 2020-03-29
• Subjects: Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid -- Perfluorooctanoic acid -- Multiple exposure routes -- Aquatic toxicology -- Bioaccumulation -- Amphibian; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental chemistry -- Periodicals; 615.902
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.4690
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0730-7268

Abstract

Abstract: Per‐/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are pervasive in aquatic systems globally and capable of causing detrimental effects on human and wildlife health. However, most studies are conducted under artificial conditions that are not representative of environmental exposures. Environmental exposures are characterized by multiple routes of exposure, low aquatic PFAS levels, and greater environmental variability than laboratory tests. Determining whether these factors influence toxicity is critical for understanding the effects of PFAS on aquatic life, including amphibians. Our goal was to assess the impact of PFAS on an amphibian under semirealistic conditions. We reared northern leopard frog ( Rana pipiens ) larvae in outdoor mesocosms containing sediment spiked to low, medium, and high levels (nominally 10, 100, or 1000 ppb dry wt) of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) for 30 d. Larvae in all PFOS treatments and the medium‐PFOA treatment were approximately 1.5 Gosner stages less developed than control animals after 30 d. Notably, these developmental delays were observed at PFOS concentrations in the water as low as 0.06 ppb, which is considerably lower than levels associated with developmental effects in laboratory studies. Our results suggest that deriving toxicity values from laboratory studies examining aquatic exposure only may underestimate the effects of environmental PFAS exposure. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:711–716. © 2020 SETAC