Abstract
For many years the American mink (Neovison vison) has been used in North America (where it originates from) as a sensitive indirect bioindicator in assessing the degree of mercury (Hg) contamination in terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this paper was the determination of total concentrations of Hg in the liver and kidneys of feral and ranch mink from the Warta Mouth National Park (WMNP) and from farms located in northwestern Poland, for comparison with similar data on American mink from North America. In road-killed feral mink from the WMNP, the mean concentrations were 11.8 and 14.1 mg/kg dry weight in the liver and kidney, respectively. Mean Hg concentrations in feral mink were from 240 to 90 times higher in these two respective tissues than in ranch mink. The feral mink from northwestern Poland had concentrations of hepatic and nephric Hg similar to the highest concentrations that have been recorded over the past several decades in wild American mink from certain areas of Canada and the USA.
Highlights
For many years the American mink (Neovison vison) has been used in North America as a sensitive indirect bioindicator in assessing the degree of mercury (Hg) contamination in terrestrial ecosystems
The aim of this paper was the determination of total concentrations of Hg in the liver and kidneys of feral and ranch mink from the Warta Mouth National Park (WMNP) and from farms located in northwestern Poland, for comparison with similar data on American mink from North America
The feral mink from northwestern Poland had concentrations of hepatic and nephric Hg similar to the highest concentrations that have been recorded over the past several decades in wild American mink from certain areas of Canada and the USA
Summary
For many years the American mink (Neovison vison) has been used in North America (where it originates from) as a sensitive indirect bioindicator in assessing the degree of mercury (Hg) contamination in terrestrial ecosystems. The liver and kidney of aquatic and semiaquatic predatory vertebrates accumulate methylmercury, the most toxic and widespread form of mercury (Hg), which is subject to biomagnification in aquatic food chains It tends to reach its highest concentrations in piscivorous birds and mammals, including the mink (Wobeser 1976; Osowski et al 1995; Scheuhammer et al 2007). More than 50 years ago in Europe (including the territories of the former Soviet Union on the eastern Polish border), ranch mink were deliberately released into the wild Their descendants, as well as those of mink that had escaped from farms, currently live in their respective habitats in many parts of the continent, including Poland (Lariviere 1999; Bartoszewicz and Zalewski 2003; Brzezinski et al 2010). The aim of this study was to examine the concentrations of mercury in the bodies of road-killed feral mink from the Warta Mouth National Park (Park Narodowy Ujscie Warty)
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