SREL Reprint #2811

Transfer of selenium from prey to predators in a simulated terrestrial food chain

William A. Hopkins1, Brandon P. Staub1, Jennifer A. Baionno1, Brian P. Jackson1, and Larry G. Talent2

1Wildlife Ecotoxicology and Physiological Ecology Program, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory,
University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29801, USA
2Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA

Abstract: Little is known about the accumulation and effects of selenium in reptiles. We developed a simplified laboratory food chain where we fed commercial feed laden with seleno-D,L-methionine (30 ~µg/g dry mass) to crickets (Acheta domestica) for 5-7 d. Se-enriched crickets (~15 ~µg/g Se [dry mass]) were fed to juvenile male and female lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) for 98 d while conspecifics were fed uncontaminated crickets. Lizards fed contaminated prey accumulated Se concentrations ranging from 9.3 (in female carcass) to 14.1 (in female gonad) µg/g compared to < 1.5 µg/g in tissues of controls. Female gonad concentrations approached the highest of thresholds for reproductive toxicity in oviparous vertebrates. However, we observed no consistent effect of dietary treatment on sublethal parameters or survival. Our simplified food chain proved to be an ecologically relevant method of exposing lizards to Se, and forms the foundation for future studies on maternal transfer and teratogenicity of Se.

Keywords: Selenium; Reptiles; Lizards; Trophic transfer; Food web

SREL Reprint #2811

Hopkins, W. A., B. P. Staub, J. A. Baionno, B. P. Jackson, and L. G. Talent. 2005. Transfer of selenium from prey to predators in a simulated terrestrial food chain. Environmental Pollution 134:447-456.

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