SREL Reprint #3477

Perfluoroalkyl substances in diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in coastal South Carolina

Jacqueline T. Bangma1, Jared M. Ragland2, Thomas R. Rainwater3, John A. Bowden2,4,
J. Whitfield Gibbons5, and Jessica L. Reiner2

1Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
2National Institute of Standards and Technology, Chemical Sciences Division,
Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, USA
3Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center & Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science,
Clemson University, P.O. Box 596, Georgetown, SC, USA
4Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences,
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
5Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC, USA

Abstract: This study focused on an estuarine wildlife species exhibiting high site fidelity and ubiquitous distribution in coastal environments along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States to monitor per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A total of 75 diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) plasma samples were collected from five creeks associated with Kiawah (Oyster Creek, Fiddler Creek, Sandy Creek, Gnat Creek) and Edisto (Townsend Creek) islands in Charleston County, South Carolina and investigated for 15 legacy PFAS. Of those, PFHxS was the only PFAS found in all terrapin plasma samples. Four additional PFAS were routinely detected (greater than 90% of the samples) and were included in statistical analyses: PFOS, PFNA, PFDA, and PFUnA. Sex-differences were observed for two creeks with male plasma containing higher PFAS than female plasma (PFHxS at Townsend Creek, PFOS at Oyster Creek). Sex-specific site differences in PFAS concentrations were observed primarily for males, suggesting male terrapins may be more sensitive indicators of localized contaminant profiles than females. Three PFAS were observed to have negative correlations with body mass: PFOS in males (p=0.045, tau=–0.220), PFNA in males (p=0.016, tau=–0.269), and PFHxS in both males (p=0.007, tau=–0.302) and females (p=0.001, tau=–0.379). No relationships for body mass and PFDA and PFUnA were observed.

SREL Reprint #3477

Bangma, J. T., J. M. Ragland, T. R. Rainwater, J. A. Bowden, J. W. Gibbons, and J. L. Reiner. 2019. Perfluoroalkyl substances in diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in coastal South Carolina. Chemosphere 215(2019): 305-312.

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