| Nitrogen Pollution: An Assessment of Its Threat to Amphibian Survival Jeremy David Rouse,1 Christine A. Bishop,1 and John Struger2 1Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
2Ecosystem Health Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada Abstract
The potential for nitrate to affect amphibian survival was evaluated by examining the areas in North America where concentrations of nitrate in water occur above amphibian toxicity thresholds. Nitrogen pollution from anthropogenic sources enters bodies of water through agricultural runoff or percolation associated with nitrogen fertilization, livestock, precipitation, and effluents from industrial and human wastes. Environmental concentrations of nitrate in watersheds throughout North America range from < 1 to > 100 mg/L. Of the 8,545 water quality samples collected from states and provinces bordering the Great Lakes, 19.8% contained nitrate concentrations exceeding those which can cause sublethal effects in amphibians. In the laboratory lethal and sublethal effects in amphibians are detected at nitrate concentrations between 2.5 and 100 mg/L. Furthermore, amphibian prey such as insects and predators of amphibians such as fish are also sensitive to these elevated levels of nitrate. From this we conclude that nitrate concentrations in some watersheds in North America are high enough to cause death and developmental anomalies in amphibians and impact other animals in aquatic ecosystems. In some situations, the use of vegetated buffer strips adjacent to water courses can reduce nitrogen contamination of surface waters. Ultimately, there is a need to reduce runoff, sewage effluent discharge, and the use of fertilizers, and to establish and enforce water quality guidelines for nitrate for the protection of aquatic organisms. Key words: amphibians, nitrate, toxicity, water quality. Environ Health Perspect 107:799-803 (1999) . [Online 31 August 1999] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107p799-803rouse/ abstract.html Address correspondence to C.A. Bishop, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Box 5050, Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7R 4A6. Telephone: (905) 336-4843. Fax: (905) 336-6434. E-mail: cab.bishop@ec.gc.ca We thank L. Hollman, S. Painter, and L. Simser for providing us with useful information and thoughts. We also thank C. Weseloh, D. Stewart, G. Barrett, R. Willson, and S. Hecnar, who reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was funded in part by the Great Lakes Action Plan. Received 25 January 1999 ; accepted 17 June 1999.
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