Pesticide and PCB Residues in the Neuse River Waterdog, 



Necturus lewisi 



Russell J. Hall 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 



Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland 20708 



Ray E. Ashton, Jr. ' 



North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, 



P. O. Box 27647, Raleigh, North Carolina 27611 



AND 



Richard M. Prouty 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 



Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 



ABSTRACT. — Residues of six organochlorine contaminants were 

 found in Necturus lewisi from six sites in the Tar and Neuse river 

 systems. Concentrations of pesticides were low and apparently related 

 to geographic patterns of use. Levels of PCBs were higher and did not 

 seem to vary geographically. 



INTRODUCTION 



The Neuse River Waterdog, Necturus lewisi, is a large, aquatic 

 salamander endemic to the Tar and Neuse river systems, North Caro- 

 lina. This paper reports the results of analysis of tissues to determine 

 pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) residue levels. This is only 

 the second published report of residues in salamanders, and the first 

 report that deals with an aquatic species. Some of the streams inhabited 

 by the salamander drain lands subject to frequent pesticide applications 

 (Reeves et al. 1977), and one of our sampling localities was the site of a 

 1979 PCB "spill". 



Ten animals of various sizes were collected from two Coastal Plain 

 and three Piedmont Plateau localities in the Neuse River drainage. 

 Specimens were frozen soon after capture and shipped in dry ice from 

 Raleigh to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Carcasses were pre- 

 pared for analysis by removal of gastrointestinal tracts. Either a 10-g 

 portion or the whole homogenized carcass was mixed thoroughly with 

 anyhdrous sodium sulfate, then extracted with hexane in a Soxhlet 

 apparatus for 7 hours* Extracts were cleaned up on a partially deacti- 

 vated Florisil column, and pesticides and PCB's were separated into 

 four fractions on a Silicar column (Kaiser et al. 1980). 



1 Present address: International Expeditions, Inc., 1776 Independence Court, 

 Birmingham, AL 35216. 



Brimleyana No. 10:107-109. February 1985. 107 



