Thomas W. Aldrich

TL;DR: Severe reproductive impacts were found in aquatic birds nesting on irrigation drainwater ponds in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and aquatic birds may experience similar problems in other areas where selenium occurs at elevated levels.

TL;DR: The frequency and types of malformations are described that were encountered during the spring of 1983 in a natural population of aquatic birds exposed to agricultural drainwater ponds and food items containing high concentrations of selenium in central California, and the incidences of embryonic mortality and deformities were 9–30 times greater than expected.

TL;DR: Selenium concentrations were elevated in livers of some birds of all species collected from the Grasslands, and selenium levels were apparently sufficiently elevated in 1984 to have caused adverse effects on avian reproduction in the South Grasslands.

TL;DR: The high levels of selenium bioaccumulation in these snakes and frogs at Kesterson Reservoir reflected the elevated levels found in their food organisms.