Morphological abnormalities in populations of South America common toad Rhinella arenarum: implications for human health

OTERO M.; GRISOLIA M.; BABINI M.S.; BIONDA C.; FLORES P.; MARTINO A. L.; POLLO F.; GRENAT P.; SALAS N.

ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 177 p. 32 - 38

0147-6513

Morphological abnormalities in amphibians may be attributed to contaminants, ultraviolet radiation and trematode parasites, or a synergistic effect between them. In the present study, morphological abnormalities in Rhinella arenarum adults from natural and artificial fluoride-rich environments were identified and evaluated. Three siteswere sampled incentral Argentina: Los Vallecitos stream (LF-LV), Los CerrosNegros stream (MF-CN), and Decantation ponds (HF-DP), with low (0.33mg/L), middle (2.03mg/L) and high (14.0mg/L) fluoride levels respectively; thelattersiteisassociated witha fluoridemine.Abnormalindividualswere photographedandthen standard radiographsweretaken.Abnormalityfrequenciesandrelativepercentageofabnormal individualswere calculated for each site. In addition, skeletochronology was used to estimate toad´s age. Five abnormality types were identified: syndactyly, ectrodactyly, polydactyly, microphthalmia and ectromelia. Percentages of abnormal individuals per site were: LF-LV=4%, MF-CN=21.2% and HF-DP=6.4%. The MF-CN and HF-DP populations had morphological abnormality frequencies that exceeded the reference value (5%) reported in the literature. The average age did not differ between sites. The results of this study indicate that there is an association between frequency of morphological abnormalities and high fluoride levels.