Mercury content in the fur of jaguars (Panthera onca) from two areas under different levels of gold mining impact in the Brazilian Pantanal
| Autor: | Fernando R. Tortato, Lilian Elaine Rampim, Howard Quigley, Rui M de Carvalho Júnior, Jairo José Zocche, Rogério Cunha de Paula, Leonardo Sartorello, Mario Haberfeld, Allison L. Devlin, Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato, Rafael Hoogesteijn, Joares Adenilson May Júnior |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Gold mining Biomagnification Fluorescence spectrometry chemistry.chemical_element Wetland mammal 010501 environmental sciences 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences biology.animal lcsh:Science heavy metals 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Apex predator geography Multidisciplinary geography.geographical_feature_category biology business.industry Ecology Panthera onca wetland Mercury (element) biomagnification chemistry Total hg Environmental chemistry Environmental science lcsh:Q business |
| Zdroj: | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Issue: ahead, Published: 17 AUG 2017 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Volume: 90, Issue: 2 Supplement 1, Pages: 2129-2139, Published: 17 AUG 2017 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Iss 0 (2017) Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências v.90 n.2 suppl.1 2018 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências Academia Brasileira de Ciências (ABC) instacron:ABC |
| ISSN: | 1678-2690 |
| Popis: | 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. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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