How to disinfect anuran eggs? Sensitivity of anuran embryos to chemicals widely used for the disinfection of larval and post‐metamorphic amphibians

Ujszegi, János and Molnár, Kinga and Hettyey, Attila (2020) How to disinfect anuran eggs? Sensitivity of anuran embryos to chemicals widely used for the disinfection of larval and post‐metamorphic amphibians. JOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY. ISSN 0260-437X (In Press)

Preview

Text 2020_Ujszegietal_JApplToxicol.pdf Download (15MB) | Preview

Abstract

Emerging infectious diseases are major drivers of global and local amphibian biodiversity loss. Developing effective disinfection methods to manage the impact of diseases in wild and captive ‘ark’ populations is therefore an important goal in amphibian conservation. While chemical disinfectants have been used safely and effectively in larval and adult amphibians infected with pathogenic microbes, their applicability to amphibian egg masses has remained untested. To bridge this gap, we experimentally exposed embryos of the common toad (Bufo bufo) and agile frog (Rana dalmatina) to three widely used disinfectants: voriconazole, chloramphenicol and chlorogen-sesquihydrate. For three days we exposed portions of egg masses to these disinfectants at 1×, 2×, 5× and 10× of the concentration recommended for the disinfection of tadpoles and adults. Subsequently, we recorded embryonic and larval survival, as well as larval body mass and the incidence of abnormalities twelve days after hatching. Application of voriconazole had species and concentration-dependent negative impacts on survival and body mass and caused marked malformations in the viscerocranial structure of B. bufo tadpoles. Exposure to chlorogen-sesquihydrate also resulted in significant mortality in B. bufo embryos and negatively affected body mass of R. dalmatina larvae. Chloramphenicol had little negative effects on embryos or larvae in either species. Based on these results, the application of voriconazole and chlorogen-sesquihydrate cannot be recommended for the disinfection of amphibian eggs, whereas treatment with chloramphenicol appears to be a safe method for eliminating potential pathogens from anuran egg masses and their immediate aquatic environment.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item