Mercury Exposure and Toxicological Consequences in Fish and Fish‐Eating Wildlife from Anthropogenic Activity in Latin America

Abstract

Despite the risk of significant adverse toxicological effects of Hg to humans and wildlife, Hg use in anthropogenic activities, and artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in particular, is widespread throughout Latin America. However, there are few research and monitoring studies of Hg toxicity in fish and fish-eating wildlife in Latin America compared to North America. In the present paper, we reviewed the literature from published articles and reports and summarized and assessed data on Hg in fish from 10 391 individuals and 192 species sampled across Latin America. We compared fish Hg levels with toxicity reference values (TRVs) for fish and dietary TRVs for fish-eating wildlife. We determined that fish, piscivorous birds, and other wildlife are at risk of Hg toxicity. We observed a large disparity in data quantity between North and Latin America, and identified regions requiring further investigation. In particular, future biomonitoring and research should focus on exposure of wildlife to Hg in Peru, Chile, Uruguay, the eastern and northern regions of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia. We also discuss Hg risk assessment methodological issues and recommend that future evaluations of Hg risk to wildlife must collect key physiological variables, including age, body size, and ideally Hg-to-Se molar ratios. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;00:1-14.

Bioquímica sanguínea y morfometría en Ichthyoelephas humeralis de ecosistemas lóticos, provincia Los Ríos, Ecuador

“…Factores exógenos tales como manipulación de los ejemplares, enfermedades, y estrés provocan cambios significativos en la composición sanguínea. Fluctuaciones en la concentración de cortisol, glucosa y colesterol ha sido detectadas debido a la manipulación y al estrés por hipoxia (15). Los estudios han estado dirigidos a la determinación de hematocritos, hemoglobina, triglicéridos, linfocitos, monocitos, neutrófilos, basófilos, proteínas, glucosa, eritrocitos leucocitos en algunas especies como, E. maculatum, S. minor y I. conceptionis (16); B. amazonicus (17) y A. ocellatus (18).…”

Mercury toxicity risk and corticosterone levels across the breeding range of the Yellow-breasted Chat

“…As Hg levels for adult chats in our study represent levels accumulated across the full annual cycle, western chats were likely exposed to these areas during migration and during breeding for some populations (Mancuso 2020). Chats may have also been exposed to higher levels of Hg during the non-breeding season in Mexico or Central America, as has been documented for the Bicknell's Thrush (Rimmer et al 2005) from past and ongoing use of Hg in gold mining in the region (Canham et al 2021). Additional studies at different parts of the annual cycle (e.g.…”

New insights on the use of bill sheath as a biomonitoring tool for mercury in two kingfisher species: A comparison with different tissues

“…Piscivorous birds have been used as target species in environmental mercury biomonitoring projects, in studies of Hg biomagnification processes (Del Lama et al, 2011;Hosseini et al, 2013;Mallory et al, 2015), methylmercury effects on avian reproduction (Fuchsman et al, 2017), and as bioindicators species of Hg (Furness and Camphuysen Kees, 1997;Burger and Gochfeld, 2004). As has been reviewed (Canham et al, 2021), bird Hg data has been summarized for North America for piscivores (Ackerman et al, 2016b;Jackson et al, 2016;Mallory et al, 2015;Evers et al, 1998) and passerines (Jackson et al, 2015). Nevertheless, Hg biomonitoring programs for birds are scarce in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas of South America, where Hg studies have been focused on human health risks from mining activities, dietary exposure and methylation processes (Salazar-Camacho et al, 2017;Lázaro et al, 2013;2018;Calao-Ramos et al, 2021).…”