title: Body burdens of heavy metals in Lake Michigan wetland turtles.
abstract: Tissue heavy metal concentrations in painted (Chrysemys picta) and snapping (Chelydra serpentina) turtles from Lake Michigan coastal wetlands were analyzed to determine (1) whether turtles accumulated heavy metals, (2) if tissue metal concentrations were related to environmental metal concentrations, and (3) the potential for non-lethal sampling techniques to be used for monitoring heavy metal body burdens in freshwater turtles. Muscle, liver, shell, and claw samples were collected from painted and snapping turtles and analyzed for cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Turtle tissues had measurable quantities of all eight metals analyzed. Statistically significant correlations between tissue metal concentrations and sediment metal concentrations were found for a subset of metals. Metals were generally found in higher concentrations in the larger snapping turtles than in painted turtles. In addition, non-lethal samples of shell and claw were found to be possible alternatives to lethal liver and muscle samples for some metals. Human consumption of snapping turtles presents potential health risks if turtles are harvested from contaminated areas. Overall, our results suggest that turtles could be a valuable component of contaminant monitoring programs for wetland ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Present Address: Department of Biology, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, 61455, USA. dsmith39@alumni.nd.edu.
authors.forename: Dayna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Present Address: Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, Northland College, Ashland, WI, 54806, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Present Address: Institute for Great Lakes Research, Department of Biology, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, 48859, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kosiara
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556-0369, USA.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Lamberti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001822:Body Burden; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism*; D008824:Michigan; D014426:Turtles / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper
keywords: Coastal wetland; Consumption advisory; Non-lethal tissue sampling; Toxicant
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