Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Biodiversity Research Institute, 276 Canco Rd., Portland, ME, USA; Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and Conservation, Indiana State University, 600 Chestnut St., Terre Haute, IN, USA.
Environ Pollut. 2018 May;236:862-870. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.109.
Mercury, a toxic trace metal, has been used extensively as an inexpensive and readily available method of extracting gold from fine-grained sediment. Worldwide, artisanal mining is responsible for one third of all mercury released into the environment. By testing bat hair from museum specimens and field collected samples from areas both impacted and unimpacted by artisanal gold mining in Perú, we show monomethylmercury (MMHg) has increased in the last 100 years. MMHg concentrations were also greatest in the highest bat trophic level (insectivores), and in areas experiencing extractive artisanal mining. Reproductive female bats had higher MMHg concentrations, and both juvenile and adult bats from mercury contaminated sites had more MMHg than those from uncontaminated sites. Bats have important ecological functions, providing vital ecosystem services such as pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control. Natural populations can act as environmental sentinels and offer the chance to expand our understanding of, and responses to, environmental and human health concerns.
汞是一种有毒的痕量金属，被广泛用作从细颗粒沉积物中提取金的廉价且易得的方法。在全球范围内，手工采矿导致三分之一的汞释放到环境中。通过测试来自秘鲁受手工采金影响和未受影响地区的博物馆标本和现场采集样本的蝙蝠毛发，我们发现过去 100 年来一甲基汞（MMHg）的含量有所增加。在最高的蝙蝠营养级（食虫动物）和经历提取式手工采矿的地区，MMHg 的浓度也最高。繁殖期雌性蝙蝠的 MMHg 浓度更高，而且来自受汞污染地点的幼年和成年蝙蝠的 MMHg 浓度均高于来自未受污染地点的蝙蝠。蝙蝠具有重要的生态功能，提供了授粉、种子传播和昆虫控制等重要的生态系统服务。自然种群可以充当环境监测器，并提供机会来扩大我们对环境和人类健康问题的理解和应对。
