Abstract
The Pantanal is the largest inland wetland in the world and is under increasing anthropogenic threats, including long-term regionally intensive gold mining practices. Gold mining activities are known to cause the release of harmful pollutants such as mercury (Hg) to the surrounding environment. Jaguars (Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758)) are apex predators, and therefore show great potential to accumulate Hg by biomagnification. We hypothesize that total Hg content in the fur of jaguars from two sites within the Brazilian Pantanal would be significantly different as a function of distance from active gold mining operations. The Hg content was determined by fluorescence spectrometry. The mean ± SD Hg content in jaguars from the study site influenced by gold mining (SB) was compared to jaguars sampled in the area free of gold mining activities (CA) using a one-way ANOVA. The mean Hg content in jaguars from SB (673.0 ± 916.8 µg g-1) is significantly different from jaguars sampled in CA (29.7 ± 23.3 µg g-1), p = 0.03. The maximum recorded content of Hg was 2,010.4 ± 150.5 µg g-1, highest level ever recorded in a wild animal. The data indicate that Hg is an important threat to jaguars within at-risk regions of the Pantanal.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is a rare element found in deposits within the earth’s crust, with significant environmental distribution due to anthropogenic activities such as mining (Ehrlich and Newman 2008, Kirby et al 2013)
The presence of Hg in the environment affects species within the food chain through the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, as the pollutants accumulate in tissues of organisms and are made biologically available (Gutleb et al 1997, Callil and Junk 2001)
The average value obtained for Hg in the reference sample BCR 397 Human hair was 11.9 ± 0.2 μg g-1, which was not significantly different from the certified value of 12.0 ± 0.5 μg g-1
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is a rare element found in deposits within the earth’s crust, with significant environmental distribution due to anthropogenic activities such as mining (Ehrlich and Newman 2008, Kirby et al 2013). The presence of Hg in the environment affects species within the food chain through the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification, as the pollutants accumulate in tissues of organisms and are made biologically available (Gutleb et al 1997, Callil and Junk 2001). MeHg is typically found in higher concentrations in adult fishes and in larger, long-lived predators of aquatic organisms (Callil and Junk 2001, Risher et al 2002, Chan et al 2003, Fonseca et al 2005). High concentrations of Hg has been documented in several free-living mammalian species, including: Lutra canadensis (Wren 1985, Wren et al 1986, Halbrook et al 1994, Evans et al 1998, 2000, Yates et al 2005, Sleeman et al 2010); Lutra lutra (Mason 1988, Mason and Madsen 1992, Hyvärinen et al 2003); Mustela vison (Wobeser et al 1976, Evans et al 2000, Yates et al 2005); Neovison vison (Wobeser et al 1976, Basu et al.2007); Puma concolor coryi (Roelke 1990, Roelke et al 1991, Dunbar 1994, Barron et al 2004); and Pteronura braziliensis (Gutleb et al 1997, Fonseca et al 2005)
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