WINTER/SPRING 2016 • VOLUME 35
Photo by Jack Kotz
Compounds in this family are widely used in industry in,
for example, stain-resistant carpets, microwave popcorn
bags, fire-fighting foams, and stone and wood sealants.
The compounds are extremely resistant to environmental
degradation processes and so are widely found in the
environment. Trace amounts are found in 98% of the
general population.
Samples from the Kiawah alligators analyzed thus far
have abnormally high concentrations of these perfluorinated
compounds. One possible reason is that the alligators here
often leave the ponds and lakes on Kiawah to feed in the salt
marshes. The marshes are of course washed by water from the
Kiawah River, which is mingled with water from Charleston
Harbor. The latter is likely the source of the compounds as it
is known to have high levels of these chemicals.
Given that traces of the perfluorinated compounds have
been found, the obvious question is if such compounds have
any effect on the health of the alligators. The answer thus far
seems to be that they do not.
Research on our alligators will resume in March 2016 for
another season. Lou Guillette’s son Matt will be involved as
will a former post-doctoral scholar of Dr. Guillette’s, Professor
Thomas Rainwater of Clemson University. Objectives for
2016 include capturing about 40 animals with, they hope, a
50:50 sex ratio. They plan a larger contaminant analysis, blood
chemistry, and analysis for metals and hormones. Finally,
they will also make more nesting surveys and pay even more
attention to education and public outreach.
As described earlier, the research on Kiawah Island’s
alligator population is part of a larger study of these
populations along the southeastern coast. Locally the work
is supported by funds from the Kiawah Conservancy and
the Town of Kiawah Island. The Town biologists participate,
and the KICA employees responsible for our lakes and ponds
regularly work with the Guillette team. Analyses of the
samples are done by chemists and MUSC PhD students at
the federal National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) laboratory on James Island.
Finally, we stress that the overriding reason for the Kiawah
Conservancy to support studies on the health of our alligator
population comes back to a statement that the late Lou
Guillette often made: If the environment is safe for alligators
it is safe for us. NK
Matt Guillette
25