The price of persistence: Assessing the drivers and health implications of metal levels in indicator carnivores inhabiting an agriculturally fragmented landscape.

Autor: Evans, Meaghan N.1,2 (AUTHOR) evansmn24@gmail.com, Waller, Simon3 (AUTHOR), Müller, Carsten T.1 (AUTHOR), Goossens, Benoit1,2,4,5 (AUTHOR), Smith, Jeremy A.6 (AUTHOR), Bakar, Mohd Soffian Abu5 (AUTHOR), Kille, Peter1 (AUTHOR) kille@cardiff.ac.uk
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Zdroj: Environmental Research. May2022, Vol. 207, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Abstrakt: Patterns and practices of agricultural expansion threaten the persistence of global biodiversity. Wildlife species surviving large-scale land use changes can be exposed to a suite of contaminants that may deleteriously impact their health. There is a paucity of data concerning the ecotoxicological impacts associated with the global palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) industry. We sampled wild Malay civets (Viverra tangalunga) across a patchwork landscape degraded by oil palm agriculture in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Using a non-lethal methodology, we quantified the levels of 13 essential and non-essential metals within the hair of this adaptable small carnivore. We robustly assessed the biological and environmental drivers of intrapopulation variation in measured levels. Metal concentrations were associated with civet age, weight, proximity to a tributary, and access to oxbow lakes. In a targeted case study, the hair metal profiles of 16 GPS-collared male civets with differing space use patterns were contrasted. Civets that entered oil palm plantations expressed elevated aluminium, cadmium, and lead, and lower mercury hair concentrations compared to civets that remained exclusively within the forest. Finally, we paired hair metal concentrations with 34 blood-based health markers to evaluate the possible sub-lethal physiological effects associated with varied hair metal levels. Our multi-facetted approach establishes these adaptable carnivores as indicator species within an extensively altered ecosystem, and provides critical and timely evidence for future studies. [Display omitted] • Agricultural production may impact species surviving within fragmented landscapes. • Metal levels in Malay civet hair varied with biological and spatial parameters. • Elevated hair Ba, Cd, Cr, and Fe detected in civets sampled closer to tributaries. • Collared civets using plantations had higher Al, Cd, and Pb than forest-only males. • Blood markers correlated with hair metals suggesting possible sub-lethal effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: GreenFILE
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