Advancing Maternal\nTransfer of Organic Pollutants\nacross Reptiles for Conservation and Risk Assessment Purposes

Embryonic exposure through maternally transferred pollutants\ncan\naffect embryo vitality, survival, and health. Reptiles face global\ndeclines and are sensitive to embryonic pollutant exposure. Yet, they\nare often neglected in pollution risk assessment and conservation.\nWe analyzed maternal transfer of organic pollutants in reptiles through\na systematic extraction, homogenization, and integration of published\ndata on organic pollutants measured in mother–egg pairs into\na comprehensive database (DOI:10.5281/zenodo.10900226), complemented\nwith molecular physical–chemical properties of the pollutants.\nOver four decades, 17 publications provided 19,955 data points shifting\nfrom legacy to emerging contaminants although research on newer contaminants\nlags regulatory and societal demands. Challenges including taxonomic\nbias, heterogeneity in sampled tissues, and 73% of censored data complicate\ncomparative analyses. However, significant opportunities were identified\nincluding the use of the turtle Malachlemys terrapin and snake Enhydris chinensis as flagship\nspecies where a large amount of data is available across tissues (allowing\ninvestigation into physiological relations) and compounds (allowing\ninsights into maternal transfer across the chemical universe). Data\non other freshwater and marine turtles provide the possibility of\nexploring taxonomic patterns in this subgroup. The analysis, integrated\ndatabase, and discussion present opportunities for research in an\nera where science needs to achieve more with limited wildlife data.