24
2. Interpreting Selenium Concentrations
TABLE 2.2. Tissue selenium concentrations associated with toxic effects in fish,
birds, and aquatic organisms.
Selenium
Species
Rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus
mykiss)
Tissue
Whole-body
concentration'
2 Ilg/g
Effect
Blood
changes
Reference
Hodson, Spry,
and Blunt 1980
Liver
Whole-body
Whole-body
Chinook salmon Whole-body
(Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha)
Whole-body
Whole-body
Fathead minnow Whole-body
(Pimephales
promelas)
Ovaries
Whole-body
51 Ilg/g
5 Ilg/g
1 Ilg/g
20 Ilg/g
2 Ilg/g
5 Ilg/g
5 Ilg/g
24 Ilg/g
16 Ilg/g
Blood
changes
Mortality
Mortality
Reduced
smolting
Reduced
growth
Mortality
Reduced
growth
Reproductive
failure
Reproductive
Hodson, Spry,
and Blunt 1980
Hilton, Hodson,
and Slinger 1980
Hunn, Hamilton,
and Buckler 1987
Hamilton et al. 1986
Hamilton et al. 1990
Hamilton et al. 1990
Ogle and Knight
1989
Schultz and
Hermanutz 1990
Schultz and
Striped bass
(Morone
saxatilis)
Bluegill sunfish
(Lepomis
macrochirus)
Muscle
Whole-body
Muscle
Liver
Carcass
Ovaries
14 Ilg/g
2 Ilg/g
20 Ilg/g
34 Ilg/g
24 Ilg/g
23 Ilg/g
failure
Mortality
Mortality
Mortality
Mortality
Reproductive
failure
Reproductive
failure
Hermanutz 1990
Coughlan and Velte
1989
Saiki, Jennings, and
Wiedmeyer 1992
Finley 1985
Finley 1985
Gillespie and
Baumann 1986
Gillespie and
Baumann 1986
(Continued on next page)
aquatic organisms (Lemly 1985a, 1989; Saiki 1986a, 1986b; Lemly and
Smith 1987; Saiki and Lowe 1987; Hothem and Ohlendorf 1989). Thus, a
small increase in waterborne selenium will result in a disproportionately
large elevation of selenium residues in fish and wildlife tissues. Moreover, selenium is efficiently transferred from parents to offspring through
the eggs (Gillespie and Baumann 1986; Heinz et a1. 1987, 1989; Schultz
and Hermanutz 1990; Coyle et a1. 1993). A contaminated aquatic food
chain can leave a legacy of selenium poisoning in fish and wildlife populations for many generations (Duke Power Company 1980; Lemly 1985a,
1997; Sorensen 1988; Coughlan and Velte 1989; Ohlendorf 1989).