Brown watersnakes (Nerodia taxispilota) as bioindicators of mercury contamination in a riverine system.

Autor: Haskins DL; Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America; University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, United States of America. Electronic address: davidhaskins44@att.net., Brown MK; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America; University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, United States of America., Bringolf RB; Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States of America., Tuberville TD; University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2021 Feb 10; Vol. 755 (Pt 2), pp. 142545. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Sep 28.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142545
Abstrakt: Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant that enters the environment through natural or anthropogenic means. Ecological risk assessments have examined Hg bioaccumulation and effects in many taxa, but little is known about Hg dynamics in reptiles, or their potential use as bioindicator species for monitoring Hg in aquatic systems. Numerous snake species, like North American watersnakes (Nerodia spp.), are piscivorous and are exposed to Hg through their diet. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with Hg accumulation in a common watersnake species and compare Hg concentrations of the snakes to those in fish occupying the same habitats. To this end, we sampled brown watersnakes (Nerodia taxispilota) from the Savannah River, a major river system in the southeastern U.S., and compared N. taxispilota Hg accumulation trends to those of bass (Micropterus salmoides), catfish (Ictalurus and Ameiurus spp.), and panfish (Lepomis and Pomoxis spp.) collected from the same reach. Total Hg (THg) in N. taxispilota tail tips ranged from 0.020 to 0.431 mg/kg (wet weight; mean: 0.104 ± 0.008). Snake tail THg was significantly correlated with blood THg, which ranged from 0.003 to 1.140 mg/kg (0.154 ± 0.019). Snake size and site of capture were significantly associated with tail THg. Snake tail THg increased at sites along and downstream of the area of historic Hg pollution, consistent with fish THg. Snake muscle THg was predicted based on tail THg and ranged from 0.095 to 1.160 (0.352 ± 0.022). To gauge Hg biomagnification in N. taxispilota, we compared predicted snake muscle THg concentrations to THg in fish of consumable size. Average biomagnification factors for THg in N. taxispilota were 3.1 (panfish) and 5.4 (catfish), demonstrating N. taxispilota likely biomagnify Hg through their diet. These results reveal N. taxispilota to be an effective bioindicator species for monitoring Hg in aquatic environments.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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