PT07 Chemical and Biological Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT123) Effects of sodium perchlorate on growth and development in zebra finch chicks.
Rainwater, T1, 2, Wood, M2, Millam, J2, Hooper, M1, 1 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA2 University of California, Davis, California, USA
ABSTRACT- Perchlorate is an environmental contaminant known to impair thyroid function in mammals and has recently been shown to alter thyroid hormone concentrations in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Perchlorate has also been shown to accumulate in wild passerines, but effects of perchlorate on this bird group have not yet been examined. In this study, we used the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) as a model for assessing the effects of perchlorate exposure on growth in a granivorous passerine. Nestling finches were dosed orally with 0 (nano-pure water vehicle), 10, 100, or 1000 mg/kg sodium perchlorate on post-hatch days (PHD) 3-14, and body mass and tibiotarsal length were measured daily during the dosing period. A subset of dosed animals was later euthanized on PHD 72 and liver (females) and brain (males) mass recorded. Preliminary results indicate significant reductions in body mass (13% and 12%) and tibiotarsal length (6% and 8%) in birds from the 100 and 1000 mg/kg dose groups, respectively, while no perchlorate effects on body, liver, or brain mass in 72 day-old birds were observed. These data indicate that nestling granivorous passerines are sensitive to perchlorate developmental effects at exposure levels they may experience in perchlorate-contaminated environments. In addition to growth, we are currently examining multiple behavioral and additional developmental endpoints in zebra finches exposed to perchlorate, and this paper will include available results of these investigations as well.
Key words: growth, Taeniopygia guttata, perchlorate, zebra finch