Hernández Felipe, Oldenkamp Ricki E, Webster Sarah, Beasley James C, Farina Lisa L, Wisely Samantha M
School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, 103 Black Hall, PO Box 116455, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall, PO Box 110430, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2017 Feb;72(2):235-246. doi: 10.1007/s00244-016-0340-2. Epub 2016 Dec 8.
Anthropogenic pollutants disrupt global biodiversity, and terrestrial sentinels of pollution can provide a warning system for ecosystem-wide contamination. This study sought to assess whether raccoons (Procyon lotor) are sentinels of local exposure to trace element contaminants at a coal fly ash site and whether exposure resulted in health impairment or changes in the intestinal helminth communities. We compared trace element accumulation and the impact on health responses and intestinal helminth communities of raccoons inhabiting contaminated and reference sites of the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (South Carolina, USA). Data on morphometry, hematology, histopathology, helminth community and abundance, and liver trace element burdens were collected from 15 raccoons captured adjacent to a coal fly ash basin and 11 raccoons from a comparable uncontaminated site nearby. Of eight trace elements analyzed, Cu, As, Se, and Pb were elevated in raccoons from the contaminated site. Raccoons from the contaminated site harbored higher helminth abundance than animals from the reference site and that abundance was positively associated with increased Cu concentrations. While we found changes in hematology associated with increased Se exposure, we did not find physiological or histological changes associated with higher levels of contaminants. Our results suggest that raccoons and their intestinal helminths act as sentinels of trace elements in the environment associated with coal fly ash contamination.
人为污染物破坏全球生物多样性，而陆地污染指示生物可为全生态系统污染提供预警系统。本研究旨在评估浣熊（北美浣熊）是否为煤矸石场地局部微量元素污染物暴露的指示生物，以及这种暴露是否导致健康损害或肠道蠕虫群落变化。我们比较了居住在美国能源部萨凡纳河场地（美国南卡罗来纳州）受污染和对照场地的浣熊的微量元素积累情况及其对健康反应和肠道蠕虫群落的影响。从靠近煤矸石池捕获的15只浣熊以及附近可比未受污染场地的11只浣熊收集了形态测量学、血液学、组织病理学、蠕虫群落和丰度以及肝脏微量元素负担的数据。在所分析的8种微量元素中，受污染场地浣熊体内的铜、砷、硒和铅含量升高。受污染场地的浣熊体内蠕虫丰度高于对照场地的动物，且该丰度与铜浓度升高呈正相关。虽然我们发现血液学变化与硒暴露增加有关，但未发现与较高污染物水平相关的生理或组织学变化。我们的结果表明，浣熊及其肠道蠕虫可作为与煤矸石污染相关的环境中微量元素的指示生物。
