Increasing salinity in freshwater environments is a growing problem due both to the negative influences of salts on ecosystems and their accumulation and persistence in environments. Two major sources of increased salinity from sodium chloride salts (NaCl) are saline wastewaters co-produced during energy production (herein, wastewaters) and road salts. Effects of road salts have received more attention, but legacy contamination from wastewaters is widespread in some regions and spills still occur. Amphibians are sensitive to contaminants, including NaCl, because of their porous skin and osmoregulatory adaptations to freshwater. However, similarities and differences between effects of wastewaters and road salts have not been investigated. Therefore, we investigated the relative influence of wastewaters and NaCl at equivalent concentrations of chloride on three larval amphibian species that occur in areas with increased salinity. We determined acute toxicity and growth effects on Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata), Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens), and Barred Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium). We posited that wastewaters would have additive effects on amphibians compared to NaCl because wastewaters often have additional toxic heavy metals and other contaminants. For NaCl, toxicity was higher for frogs than the salamander. Toxicity of wastewaters was also similar between chorus and leopard frogs. Only chorus frog survival was lower when exposed to wastewater compared to NaCl. Mass and length of leopard and chorus frog larvae decreased with increasing salinity after only 96 hours of exposure but did not for tiger salamanders. Size of leopard frogs was lower when exposed to NaCl compared to wastewater. However, growth effects were similar between wastewater and NaCl for chorus frogs. Taken together, our results suggest that previous studies on effects of road salt could inform future studies and management of wastewater-contaminated ecosystems, and vice versa. Nevertheless, effects of road salts and wastewaters may be context-, species-, and trait-specific and require further investigations. The negative influence of salts on imperiled amphibians underscores the need to restore landscapes with increased salinity and reduce future salinization of freshwater ecosystems.

由于盐对生态系统的不利影响及其在环境中的积累和持久性，在淡水环境中增加盐度是一个日益严重的问题。氯化钠盐（NaCl）盐度增加的两个主要来源是在能源生产过程中共同产生的盐水（此处为废水）和道路盐。道路盐分的影响已引起更多关注，但废水中的遗留污染在某些地区广泛存在，并且仍会发生泄漏。两栖动物对包括NaCl在内的污染物很敏感，因为它们具有多孔的皮肤和对淡水的渗透调节作用。但是，尚未研究废水和路用盐的影响之间的异同。因此，我们研究了氯化物等浓度的废水和NaCl对盐度增加地区出现的三种幼虫两栖动物的相对影响。我们确定了对北方合唱青蛙的急性毒性和生长作用（Pseudacris maculata），北豹蛙（Rana pipiens）和Barred Tiger Salamanders（Ambystoma mavortium）。我们认为，与NaCl相比，废水对两栖动物具有加性效应，因为废水通常还含有其他有毒的重金属和其他污染物。对于NaCl，青蛙的毒性高于the。合唱和豹蛙之间的废水毒性也相似。与NaCl相比，仅在暴露于废水中时，合唱青蛙的存活率较低。暴露仅96小时后，随着盐度的增加，豹和合唱青蛙幼虫的质量和长度降低，但老虎tiger则没有。与废水相比，暴露于NaCl中的豹蛙的体型更小。然而，废水和氯化钠对合唱青蛙的生长效果相似。在一起 我们的结果表明，以前对路盐的影响的研究可以为将来对废水污染的生态系统的研究和管理提供参考，反之亦然。尽管如此，路盐和废水的影响可能是因背景，物种和性状而异，需要进一步研究。盐对两栖动物的不利影响强调了需要恢复盐度增加的景观并减少未来淡水生态系统的盐碱化。