Effects of acidification on the availability of toxic metals and calcium to wild birds and mammals

Abstract

The effects of acidification on wildlife inhabiting aquatic or semi-aquatic environments are reviewed, with particular reference to the possibility for increased dietary exposure to Hg, Cd, Pb and/or Al, and decreased availability of essential dietary minerals such as Ca. It is concluded that: (1) piscivores risk increased exposure to dietary methyl-Hg in acidified habitats, and Hg concentrations in prey may reach levels known to cause reproductive impairment in birds and mammals; (2) piscivores do not risk increased exposure to dietary Cd, Pb or Al because these metals are either not increased in fish due to acidification, or increase are trivial from a toxicological perspective; (3) insectivores and omnivores may, under certain conditions, experience increased exposure to toxic metals in some acidified environments. Exposure levels are likely to be sufficiently low, however, that significant risks to health or reproduction are unlikely. More importantly, these wildlife species may experience a drastic decrease in the availability of dietary Ca due to the pH-related extinction of high-Ca aquatic invertebrate taxa (molluscs, crustaceans). Decreased availability of dietary Ca is known to adversely affect egg laying and eggshell integrity in birds, and the growth of hatchling birds and neonatal mammals. Acidification-related changes in the dietary availability of other essential elements, such as Mg, Se and P, have not been established and require further investigation; (4) herbivores may risk increased exposure to Al and Pb, and perhaps Cd, in acidified environments because certain macrophytes can accumulate high concentrations of these metals under acidic conditions. The relative importance of pH in determining the metal concentrations of major browse species, and the toxicological consequences for herbivores wildlife, is not well established and requires further study. A decreased availability of dietary Ca is also likely for herbivores inhabiting acidified environments.