Comparison of two freshwater turtle species as monitors of environmental contamination
- IT Corp., Knoxville, TN (USA)
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
Two species of turtles that occupy different ecological niches were compared for their usefulness as monitors of contamination in freshwater ecosystems. Trachemys scripta (Agassiz) and Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus) were selected for comparison based on species abundance and differences in food habits and sediment contact. A review of the literature on contaminants in turtles and results of preliminary surveys conducted at the field sites, which are included in this study, were used to direct and focus this research project. White Oak Lake, a settling basin for low-level radioactive and nonradioactive contaminants, and Bearden Creek Embayment, an uncontaminated reference site upriver, were used as study sites in the investigation of turtles as indicators of chemical contamination. Turtles were analyzed for concentrations of strontium-90, cesium-137, cobalt 60, and mercury in specific target tissues, and for single-stranded DNA breaks, a non-specific indicator of possible exposure to genotoxic agents in the environment. 133 refs., 2 figs., 15 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/ER
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6700598
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-11460; ON: DE90014779
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.). Thesis submitted by L. Meyers-Schoene to Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
CONTAMINATION
CESIUM 137
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
COBALT 60
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
MONITORING
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MERCURY
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
STRONTIUM 90
TURTLES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DNA
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
FRESH WATER
METALS
PESTICIDES
TENNESSEE
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COBALT ISOTOPES
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FEDERAL REGION IV
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MATERIALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
REPTILES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
USA
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOT
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
540330* - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560162 - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology- Animals
Plants
Microorganisms
& Cells