Poison in the nursery: Mercury contamination in the tadpole-rearing sites of an Amazonian frog.

Autor: Schlippe-Justicia L; Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: lia.schlippe@vetmeduni.ac.at., Lemaire J; Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria., Dittrich C; Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria; University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland., Mayer M; Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Anne Evenstads Vei 80, 2480 Koppang, Norway; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark., Bustamante P; Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France., Rojas B; Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria; University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland. Electronic address: bibiana.rojas@vetmeduni.ac.at.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Feb 20; Vol. 912, pp. 169450. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 21.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169450
Abstrakt: Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has become a major threat for Neotropical forests. This technique for obtaining gold is a substantial driver of small-scale deforestation and the largest contributor of Hg emissions to both the atmosphere and freshwater systems globally. Previous studies have demonstrated the impacts of Hg accumulation on various aquatic ecosystems and organisms. However, its consequences in other, more discrete systems such as phytotelmata (water-holding plant structures), and the organisms therein, have so far gone unnoticed. Here, we show high concentrations of Hg (mean ± SD: 1.43 ± 2.19 ppm) in phytotelmata and other small pools, the aquatic microenvironments used by the Neotropical poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius as tadpole-rearing sites. In 17 % of the cases, we detected Hg concentrations above the severe effect level (SEL = 2 ppm) for freshwater sediments. Hg concentrations varied depending on pool characteristics and tended to increase in proximity to known ASGM sites. We did not find an effect of Hg concentration on the number of D. tinctorius tadpoles in a given pool. Tadpoles were found in pools with concentrations of up to 8.68 ppm, suggesting that D. tinctorius fathers do not avoid pools with high Hg levels for tadpole deposition. While further research is needed to determine the potential effects of Hg on tadpole development, we found an intriguing tendency for tadpoles in later developmental stages to have lower body condition when occurring in pools with higher Hg concentrations. Our findings provide evidence of relevant Hg concentrations in the terrestrial water systems used by phytotelm-breeding anurans, and highlight the need of further field and experimental studies investigating the implications of Hg contamination for tadpole development and behaviour and the overall conservation of Amazonian biodiversity.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
(Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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