Bowman Jeff, Schulte-Hostedde Albrecht I
Wildlife Research & Development Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Trent University DNA Building, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, Canada K9J 7B8.
Environ Res. 2009 Oct;109(7):937-9; discussion 940-1. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2009.07.004. Epub 2009 Jul 28.
In a recent review paper, Basu et al. [Basu, N., Scheuhammer, A.M., Bursian, S.J., Elliott, J., Rouvinen-Watt, K., Chan, H.M., 2007. Mink as a sentinel species in environmental health. Environ. Res. 103, 130-144] suggested that the American mink (formerly Mustela vison, now Neovison vison) should be used as a sentinel species for studies of the effects of pollution on environmental health. They based this assertion in large part on their conclusion that mink meet a set of criteria required by a sentinel species. In this commentary, we suggest that Basu et al. overlooked an important criterion for sentinel species - that the species must be a continuous resident of the environment under evaluation. Across their native range and beyond, mink are commonly farmed for the fur industry, and a long history of studies has shown that where they are farmed, they escape. For example, in southern Ontario, Canada, 64% of the mink have been genetically identified as domestic in origin, or domestic-wild hybrids. Thus, we argue that mink do not meet the criterion of continuous residence, and cannot be reliably used as sentinel species. There is a strong likelihood of biased inference when mink are used for such purposes.
在最近的一篇综述论文中，巴苏等人[巴苏，N.，舍哈默，A.M.，布尔西安，S.J.，埃利奥特，J.，鲁维宁 - 瓦特，K.，陈，H.M.，2007年。水貂作为环境健康中的指示物种。环境研究。103，130 - 144]建议将美洲水貂（原鼬属水貂，现新鼬属水貂）用作研究污染对环境健康影响的指示物种。他们这一论断很大程度上基于他们的结论，即水貂符合指示物种所需的一系列标准。在这篇评论中，我们认为巴苏等人忽略了指示物种的一个重要标准——该物种必须是所评估环境中的常住物种。在其原生范围及以外地区，水貂通常因皮毛产业而被养殖，长期的研究表明，在养殖水貂的地方，它们会逃脱。例如，在加拿大安大略省南部，64%的水貂经基因鉴定为原产于养殖场，或是养殖场与野生水貂的杂交种。因此，我们认为水貂不符合常住物种的标准，不能可靠地用作指示物种。当将水貂用于此类目的时，极有可能得出有偏差的推断。
