SREL Reprint #2416

Trace elements in egg contents and egg shells of slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) from the Savannah River Site

J. Burger1,2 and J. W. Gibbons3

1Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution, Nelson Biological Laboratory, Rutgers University,
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8082, USA
2Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855-1179, USA
3The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia. P. 0. Drawer, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Abstract: In this paper we examine the levels of trace elements in the egg contents and egg shells of slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) from the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina. Trace elements have seldom been examined in the tissues or eggs of reptiles, although some turtles and large snakes occupy a high trophic level. Lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium, chromium, and manganese levels were examined in one egg and its egg shell collected from each of 16 females that laid in late May and June 1996. We were interested in determining background levels, whether certain metals were sequestered in the egg shells, and whether levels were higher in contents or shells. Concentrations were higher in egg contents than in shells for lead, mercury, and selenium, while chromium was higher in the shell. There were no differences for cadmium and manganese. Compared to eggs from other reptiles, levels in slider turtles were generally similar for cadmium and selenium, lower for chromium and lead, and higher for manganese.

SREL Reprint #2416

Burger, J. and J.W. Gibbons. 1998. Trace elements in egg contents and egg shells of slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) from the Savannah River Site. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 34:382-386.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).