Abstract
Animals living in anthropogenic habitats bear a multitude of costs, which are directly or indirectly associated with human activities. Among others, an elevated exposure to environmental pollution can have negative consequences for wildlife populations. We examined the differences in the concentrations of trace elements between the field and forest ecotype of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Naturally, roe deer inhabited various types of woodlands (forest ecotype), but within the last century, they adapted to life in a human-transformed agricultural areas (field ecotype), which could be associated with an increased exposure to pollution. In this study, we measured concentrations of seven trace metals (barium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, strontium, zinc) and fluoride in skull bones and permanent teeth of more than 230 roe deer from 8 study plots in East-Central Europe. We found that field roe deer had higher concentrations of four trace metals (copper, iron, lead, strontium) and fluoride compared with forest roe deer. These differences were consistent with variations in the general level of environmental contamination within the study plots, as assessed with trace element content in wild plants. Our study indicates that bone and teeth of the European roe deer can be used as a valid indicator of environmental pollution. Also, we expect that elevated exposure of field roe deer to environmental pollution can have negative consequences for wild populations of this species, as well as for the consumers of venison.
Highlights
The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is recognized as one of the most ecologically plastic species among cervids, because it can tolerate strong anthropogenic pressure and can thrive in a human-impacted landscape (Augustine and McNaughton 1998; Tinoco Torres et al 2011)
Cervids usually produce new antlers each year, and they are not suitable to investigate long-term exposure to pollutants. Taking all this into account, bone and teeth are expected to more reliably indicate long-term bioaccumulation of pollutants, and consistent with this prediction, we have recently shown that heavy metal content of permanent teeth reliably indicate throughout-life intoxication by environmental pollution in the European roe deer (Demesko et al 2018)
After accounting for age-related variation in trace element content, we found that concentrations of four trace metals and fluoride in roe deer significantly varied with ecotype (Table 3)
Summary
The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is recognized as one of the most ecologically plastic species among cervids, because it can tolerate strong anthropogenic pressure and can thrive in a human-impacted landscape (Augustine and McNaughton 1998; Tinoco Torres et al 2011). Analysis of soft tissues and internal organs, especially liver and kidney, which accumulate toxic elements, can capture longer periods of exposure to contamination and these types of tissues have commonly been used in ecotoxicological monitoring of roe deer (Kryński et al 1982; Frank 1986; Babińska-Werka and Czarnowska 1988; Pokorny and Ribarič-Lasnik 2002; Pompe-Gotal and Prevendar-Crnić 2002; de Mendoza et al 2011; Srebočan et al 2011; Długaszek and Kopczyński 2013; WieczorekDabrowska et al 2013; Durkalec et al 2015; Lehel et al 2016) Hard tissues, such as bone or teeth, have the lowest turnover rates, and they are known to accumulate trace elements over years or decades (Glimcher 2006). To estimate the level of general environmental pollution within each study plot, we measured trace metal content in the common forest plants (2 species of trees and 2 genera of wild fruit plants) that are an important component of roe deer diet
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