DEFICIENCY OF RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS IN NATURAL LANDSCAPE COMPONENTS AS A CAUSE OF GEOPHYGY AMONG UNGULATES ON OLKHON ISLAND

Abstract

The actuality of the work lies in the systematic study of the causes of geophagy from the viewpoint of the rare earth hypothesis. From the original results of complex geological-hydrobiogeochemical studies carried out on Olkhon Island (Lake Baikal). ), it follows that the phenomenon of geophagy among wild and domestic ungulates on the island is due to a deficiency of light rare earth elements (LREE) in plant foods and natural waters. The deficit is associated with a low concentration of LREE in the composition of the most common metamorphic terrigenous-carbonate rocks, deluvium and soils on the island. The similar geochemical specificity of landscapes can be the cause of LREE imbalance in the hormonal system of the body. Hormonal stress causes animals to regularly and periodically consume kaolinite clays of weathering rocks enriched with the necessary elements.