Maternal provisioning interacts with incubation temperature to affect hatchling mercury exposure in an oviparous reptile

Johnson, Josiah M.; Smaga, Christopher R.; Bock, Samantha L.; Parrott, Benjamin B.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0097

Maternal provisioning interacts with incubation temperature to affect hatchling mercury exposure in an oviparous reptile

Journal Article · Wed Aug 09 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Biology Letters (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0097· OSTI ID:2228313

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Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Aiken, SC (United States); University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States); University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Aiken, SC (United States); University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

The thermal environment experienced by developing embryos can influence the utilization of maternally provisioned resources. Despite being particularly consequential for oviparous ectotherms, these dynamics are largely unexplored within ecotoxicological frameworks. Here, we test if incubation temperature interacts with maternally transferred mercury to affect subsequent body burdens and tissue distributions of mercury in hatchling American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Nine clutches of alligator eggs were collected from a mercury-contaminated reservoir and incubated at either female- or male-promoting temperatures. Total mercury (THg) concentration was measured in egg yolk collected during incubation and in a suite of tissues collected from hatchlings. THg concentrations in residual yolk and blood were higher in hatchlings incubated at cooler, female-promoting temperatures compared to the warmer, male-promoting temperatures. THg concentrations in most tissues were positively correlated with THg concentrations in blood and dermis, and egg yolk THg concentration was the best predictor of THg concentration in many resultant tissues. Furthermore, our results highlight a hereto unknown role of the developmental environment in mediating tissue specific uptake of contaminants in an oviparous reptile.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Aiken, SC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: EM0005228

OSTI ID:: 2228313

Journal Information:: Biology Letters (Online), Journal Name: Biology Letters (Online) Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 19; ISSN 1744-957X

Publisher:: The Royal SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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