Parental Exposure to Pesticides and Poor Clutch Viability in American Alligators

In central Florida, alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabiting lakes contaminated with organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) produce eggs that have high OCP concentrations and low clutch viability (proportion of eggs in a clutch that yield a live hatchling) compared to those from less contaminated lakes (reference lakes). However, a clear dose-response relationship has not been established between OCPs and poor clutch viability. In order to better elucidate a cause and effect relationship between OCP exposure and clutch viability, we conducted concurrent field and laboratory studies. Our field study reaffirmed that eggs of wild alligators from OCP-contaminated lakes and wetlands continue to have lower clutch viability and higher OCP burdens than eggs from reference lakes. Our field study also demonstrated that OCP egg burdens were strongly correlated with clutch viability for some of the OCP-contaminated sites, but not all. To better test causal relationships, a parental exposure study was conducted using captive adult alligators. Our laboratory study demonstrated that dietary exposure of captive alligators to an ecologically relevant OCP mixture caused alligators to produce eggs with higher OCP burdens and reduced clutch viability, as compared to the captive-control population. The experimentally induced egg burdens and clutch viability reductions were similar to those of wild alligators from OCP-contaminated sites. Our field and laboratory results suggest parental OCP exposure may be contributing to low clutch viability in wild alligators inhabiting OCP-contaminated habitats, raising some concern for endangered crocodilians living in OCP-contaminated habitats.