Data from the pilot study to assess bioaccumulation and reproductive effects of dietary selenium on Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka)

This data release supports a pilot laboratory study evaluating the bioaccumulation and reproductive effects of dietary selenium on the endangered Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka). Adult fish were exposed under controlled flow-through conditions to three diets containing graded concentrations of seleno-L-methionine (control, 5.50, and 14.0 micrograms Se/g dry weight) to simulate environmentally relevant dietary exposure pathways. Following a 42-day exposure out of a planned 60-day exposure, multiple endpoints were to be quantified across life stages, including adult survival, growth, and whole-body selenium concentrations, as well as egg selenium content, viability, hatchability, and larval survival, development, and deformities. However, the study was ended early due to an Aeromonas infection along with a lack of females, and no reproductive endpoints were evaluated. Water quality parameters and selenium concentrations in water and tissues were measured using established USGS quality assurance protocols. Additionally, methods were developed to induce spawning in Topeka Shiners, which had not been done before in a laboratory setting and are described in the supplemental information section. The resulting dataset provides information on selenium bioaccumulation in a federally endangered cyprinid, addressing key uncertainties regarding the applicability of existing national selenium criteria to sensitive species and informing ecological risk assessments in agriculturally influenced aquatic systems.