Cherepovets State University, Cherepovets, Russia.
FSBI United Directorate Lazovsky State Nature Reserve them L. G. Kaplanova, and the National Park "Call of the Tiger", Lazo, Russia, 692980.
Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 25;11(1):6923. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86411-y.
Being a global pollutant, mercury can originate from both natural as well as anthropogenic sources. Coastal marine atmospheric fog is considered a potential source of ocean-derived monomethylmercury (MMHg) to coastal terrestrial ecosystems. However, the ratio between mercury appearing through natural processes and that from the results of human activity is unclear. We assumed that the total mercury content in the fur of tigers would differ depending on the distance from the sea. Here we show that the average mercury content in tigers from the coast (0.435 ± 0.062 mg kg) is significantly different from tigers from the inland area (0.239 ± 0.075 mg kg), (p = 0.02). We found that the content of mercury in the fur of tigers is largely dependent of natural processes rather than human activity. We assume that the levels of mercury in coastal ecosystems in the south of the Russian Far East reflect the position of the region relative to the deep faults of the East Pacific Platform. Obtained data indicate that environmental risks associated with mercury pollution currently exist, but do not pose a serious threat to Siberian tigers.
汞作为一种全球性污染物，既可以源自自然来源，也可以源自人为来源。沿海海洋大气雾被认为是海洋来源的一甲基汞（MMHg）向沿海陆地生态系统输送的潜在来源。然而，通过自然过程出现的汞与人类活动造成的汞之间的比例尚不清楚。我们假设，老虎皮毛中的总汞含量会因距海距离的不同而有所差异。在这里，我们表明，来自沿海地区（0.435 ± 0.062 mg kg）的老虎的平均汞含量与来自内陆地区（0.239 ± 0.075 mg kg）的老虎有显著差异（p = 0.02）。我们发现，老虎皮毛中的汞含量主要取决于自然过程，而不是人类活动。我们假设，俄罗斯远东南部沿海生态系统中的汞含量反映了该地区相对于东太平洋地台深断裂的位置。所得数据表明，与汞污染相关的环境风险确实存在，但对西伯利亚虎没有构成严重威胁。
