Dietary exposure of BDE‐47 and BDE‐99 and effects on behavior, bioenergetics, and thyroid function in juvenile red‐eared sliders ( Trachemys scripta elegans ) and common snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina )

Juvenile red‐eared sliders ( Trachemys scripta elegans ) and snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina ) were fed food dosed with brominated diphenyl ether‐47 (BDE‐47) or BDE‐99 for 6 mo beginning approximately 9 mo posthatch. During the exposure period, measurements of growth, bioenergetics, and behavior were made; thyroid function and accumulation were quantified postexposure. Whole‐body concentrations of both congeners were lower in red‐eared sliders compared with snapping turtles after 6 mo of exposure. Snapping turtles receiving BDE‐47 had significantly elevated standard metabolic rates after 3 mo and 4 mo of exposure ( p  = 0.014 and p  = 0.019, respectively). When exposed to BDE‐99, red‐eared sliders were slower to right themselves after having been inverted ( p  < 0.0001). Total glandular thyroxine concentrations were significantly reduced in red‐eared sliders exposed to BDE‐47 (mean control, 8080 ng/g; mean BDE‐47, 5126 ng/g; p  = 0.034). These results demonstrate that dietary exposure to BDE‐47 and BDE‐99 can elicit a suite of responses in 2 species of turtles, but that the red‐eared slider appears to be a more sensitive species to the measured end points. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2810–2817 . © 2014 SETAC