Department of Animal Science, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Av. Vicente Méndez 595, Chillán, Chile.
Soils and Natural Resources Department, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Av. Vicente Méndez 595, Chillán, Chile.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Oct;183:114095. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114095. Epub 2022 Sep 5.
Pinnipeds are sentinel species for marine pollution, but their role as vectors of trace elements (TEs) or rare earth elements (REEs) to ecosystems has been poorly studied. The present study tested pinniped feces for 61 elements, including REEs. Feces of adult seals (Mirounga leonina, Hydrurga leptonyx) from Fildes Bay, King George Island, Antarctica, were analyzed by ICP-MS. TEs varied by several orders of magnitude across the suite examined herein, with Fe, Al, Zn, Mn, HgII and Sr as the top six in both species. Of the REEs, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sc, Sm, Tb, Y and Yb were found consistently in all samples and ranged from 0.935 to 0.006 μg g d.w. The results show that both species act as biovector organisms of TEs and REEs through feces in remote environments, whose actual impacts and long-term fate need further exploration.
鳍足类动物是海洋污染的哨兵物种，但它们作为痕量元素 (TEs) 或稀土元素 (REEs) 向生态系统传播的作用还没有得到充分研究。本研究通过电感耦合等离子体质谱法 (ICP-MS) 检测了来自南极洲乔治王岛菲尔德斯湾的成年海豹 (Mirounga leonina，Hydrurga leptonyx) 的粪便中的 61 种元素，包括 REEs。在本研究中检查的所有元素中，TEs 的变化幅度都达到了几个数量级，Fe、Al、Zn、Mn、HgII 和 Sr 在两种物种中均排名前六。在所有样品中均一致发现了 REEs 中的 Ce、Dy、Er、Eu、Gd、Ho、La、Lu、Nd、Pr、Sc、Sm、Tb、Y 和 Yb，其范围从 0.935 至 0.006 μg g d.w. 。结果表明，这两个物种通过粪便在偏远环境中充当 TEs 和 REEs 的生物载体，其实际影响和长期命运需要进一步探索。
