METALS IN TISSUES OF DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN FROMNEW JERSEYJOANNA BURGER, Division of Life Sciences, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Nelson Hall, Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.A. (e-mail: burger@biology.rutgers.edu) (Received 30 January 2001; accepted 11 September 2001) Abstract: Relatively little is known about contaminants in reptiles, particularly turtles. The distribution of metals in eggs, liver and muscle of diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) was examined from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey as part of an aquatic study to understand movement of contaminants in the bay. Lead and cadmium were relatively low in all tissues. There were significant differences among tissues for all metals, except lead. Where there were significant differences, levelswere highest in the liver, except for chromium. Levels of mercury were 6.6 times higher in the liver than muscle, and manganese levels were 4 times as high. The levels of metals in muscle of diamondback terrapin are below those that might cause effects in consumers, including humans who eat them in stews. However, the level of mercury in liver is sufficiently high to be problematic for consumers and scavengers that eat liver. Keywords: Barnegat Bay, biomonitoring, consumers, metals, turtles
About edocr: Publishing documents on edocr is a proven way to start demand generation for your products and services. Thousands of professionals and businesses publish marketing (brochures, data sheets, press releases, white papers and case studies), sales (slides, price lists and pro-forma agreements), operations (specifications, operating manuals, installation guides), customer service (user manuals) and financial (annual reports and financial statements) documents making it easier for prospects and customers to find content, helping them to make informed decisions.#SEO #leadgen #content #analyticsedocr & my.edocr are committed to making your documents work harder for you every day! If you build a great profile page, with links to social media and your website, you make our job of helping you so much easier!
<p>METALS IN TISSUES OF DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN FROM
NEW JERSEY
JOANNA BURGER
Division of Life Sciences, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Environmental and
Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Nelson Hall, Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.A.
(e-mail: burger@biology.rutgers.edu)
(Received 30 January 2001; accepted 11 September 2001)
Abstract. Relatively little is known about contaminants in reptiles, particularly turtles. The dis-
tribution of metals in eggs, liver and muscle of diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) was
examined from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey as part of an aquatic study to understand movement of
contaminants in the bay. Lead and cadmium were relatively low in all tissues. There were significant
differences among tissues for all metals, except lead. Where there were significant differences, levels
were highest in the liver, except for chromium. Levels of mercury were 6.6 times higher in the
liver than muscle, and manganese levels were 4 times as high. The levels of metals in muscle of
diamondback terrapin are below those that might cause effects in consumers, including humans who
eat them in stews. However, the level of mercury in liver is sufficiently high to be problematic for
consumers and scavengers that eat liver.
Keywords: Barnegat Bay, biomonitoring, consumers, metals, turtles
1. Introduction
Environmental and coastal managers are interested in assessing the health of mar-
ine and coastal environments, especially as more people concentrate along coasts,
and participate in a variety of activities in coastal waters. Overall, the majority
of people in the world live within 100 km of bays and estuaries (Norse, 1993;
NRC, 1995). Marine organisms are exposed to a variety of pollutants that enter
estuaries from surface runoff, airborne deposition, and natural geochemical cycles.
While anthropogenic contaminants from urban, industrial and agricultural runoff
are a major issue, levels are augmented by natural geological processes, and global
transport (Mailman, 1980; Fitzgerald, 1989).
Becaus