title: Organochlorine contaminants in complete clutches of Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) eggs from Belize.
abstract: Seven complete clutches of Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) eggs were collected in northern Belize and examined for organochlorine (OC) pesticide residues. The primary OC detected, p,p-DDE, was found in every egg analyzed (n=175). Other OCs detected included p,p-DDT, p,p-DDD, methoxychlor, aldrin, and endosulfan I. Concentrations of individual OCs ranged from 4 ppb (ng chemical/g egg wet weight) to greater than 500 ppb. A statistical evaluation of p,p-DDE levels in three complete clutches was used to derive the minimum number of eggs needed from a clutch to precisely determine the mean p,p-DDE concentration representative of that clutch. Sample sizes of 8 (80% confidence level) and 11 (90% confidence level) were determined to yield an accurate estimate of contaminant levels in a full clutch of eggs. The statistically recommended sample size of 11 eggs (at 90% confidence level) was successfully tested on the four additional clutches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6160, USA.
authors.forename: Ted H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jaclyn E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cañas
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Rainwater
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: McMurry
authors.forename: Todd A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000452:Aldrin / Q000032:analysis; D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles; D000818:Animals; D001531:Belize; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000032:analysis; D003632:Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane / Q000032:analysis; D004726:Endosulfan / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008731:Methoxychlor / Q000032:analysis; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D015053:Zygote / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D004726:Endosulfan; D000452:Aldrin; D008731:Methoxychlor; D003632:Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane