Accumulation of trace metals in the embryos and hatchlings of Chelonia mydas from Peninsular Malaysia incubated at different temperatures Maria P. Ikonomopoulou a, ⁎, Henry Olszowy b , Rod Francis b , Kamarruddin Ibrahim c , Joan Whittier a a School of Biomedical Sciences, Anatomy and Developmental Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia b Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Queensland Health Scientific Services, 39 Kessels Rd, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4109, Australia c Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre (TUMEC), Rantau Abang, Dungun, Terengganu 23050, Malaysia HIGHLIGHTS ► The presence of various trace elements was observed during development in Chelonia mydas of Peninsular Malaysia. ► The developmental pattern of the measured trace elements was similar in both female and male C. mydas. ► Zinc concentrations varied the most among trace elements during development and in both sexes. ► Some trace elements accumulated differently during development, indicating a storage preference within the egg compartments. abstract article info Article history: Received 21 November 2012 Received in revised form 10 February 2013 Accepted 13 February 2013 Keywords: Green turtle hatchlings Chelonia mydas Trace metals Development Accumulation Incubation temperatures A variety of trace metals were measured in the egg contents of three clutches of Chelonia mydas collected from Kuala Terengganu state in Peninsular Malaysia. We quantified Mn, Cu, Zn, Se (essential trace metals) and As (anthropogenic pollutant) at several developmental stages obtained by incubating eggs at two differ- ent temperatures (27 °C and 31 °C). The incubation temperatures were chosen because they produce pre- dominantly male or predominantly female hatchlings, respectively. The eggs were removed from the sand and washed before being placed in incubators, to ensure that the only possible source of the detected metals was maternal transfer. Other metals: Mo, Co, Ni, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Tl and Pb (all non-essential metals) were detected at concentrations below the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ). Trace metal concentrations, particularly [Zn], increased during development, other metals (Cu, As, Se and Cr) accumulated to a lesser degree than zinc but no significant differences were observed between the incubation temperatures at any stage of incubation. To date, only a few studies on trace metals in turtle embryos and hatchlings have been reported; this study will provide basic knowledge on the accumulation of trace metals during development at two different incubation temperatures. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Sea turtles are long-lived marine animals whose populations have recently declined due to anthropogenic activities such as habitat deg- radation in the foraging and nesting areas, accidental net catches and boat injuries (reviewed in Hamann et al., 2010). Environmental pol- lutants in various forms also pose a threat to sea turtle habitats, as they degrade habitat quality and, if present in high enough concen- tration, may make the habitat unusable (Hamann et al., 2010). Marine turtles are more susceptible to the accumulation of toxicants than some other species (Milton and Lutz, 2003), as they are long-lived. This is especially true of carnivorous species (e.g., Caretta caretta), who accumulate toxicants from prey who have themselves accumu- lated it in their tissues from sources lower in the food chain. Herbiv- orous turtles (e.g., Chelonia mydas) in contrast have lower tissue concentration of toxicants (Bjorndal, 1997). Additionally, some spe- cies (for example: Dermochelys coriacea) travel long distances until they reach their nesting beaches (Benson et al., 2007) during which time, they are aphagic and utilise their fat reserve to survive (Bjorndal, 1985). This will release both trace metals and persistent or- ganic pollutants (POPs) into their bloodstreams as these accumulate in body fat. Thus they may suffer from acute pollutant exposure dur- ing aphagic period and even otherwise essential trace metals (such as zinc) may be present in the circulation at toxic concentrations. Environmental contaminants, including trace metals and organic pesticides have been found in tissues of various species and popu- lations worldwide (Pugh and Becker, 2001 for review). These include: Science of the Total Environment 450–451 (2013) 301–306 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Level 2 North, The University of Queensland, Services Road, Building 80, St Lucia Campus, Queensland 4072, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 334 62018. E-mail address: m.ikonomopoulou@uq.edu.au (M.P. Ikonomopoulou). 0048-9697/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.02.031 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv