Presence of artisanal gold mining predicts mercury bioaccumulation in five genera of bats (Chiroptera)

Kumar, Anjali; Divoll, Timothy J.; Ganguli, Priya M.; Trama, Florencia A.; Lamborg, Carl H.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.109

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Few studies have investigated whether anthropogenic increases in IHg have resulted in increased bioaccumulation of MeHg, much less the potential effects of increased MeHg on avian communities or physiology [85]. Novel studies have used museum specimens to demonstrate increases in the amount of MeHg deposited in tissues of fish [65], birds [67][68][69][70][71]86] and bats [87]. One recent study used museum specimens to document MeHg contamination in black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), a seabird formerly designated as vulnerable and now nearthreatened [88].…”

Section: (B) Museum Specimens Track Organic Mercury Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Schmitt

Cook

Zamudio

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Natural history museums and the specimen collections they curate are vital scientific infrastructure, a fact as true today as it was when biologists began collecting and preserving specimens over 200 years ago. The importance of museum specimens in studies of taxonomy, systematics, ecology and evolutionary biology is evidenced by a rich and abundant literature, yet creative and novel uses of specimens are constantly broadening the impact of natural history collections on biodiversity science and global sustainability. Excellent examples of the critical importance of specimens come from their use in documenting the consequences of environmental change, which is particularly relevant considering the alarming rate at which we now modify our planet in the Anthropocene. In this review, we highlight the important role of bird, mammal and amphibian specimens in documenting the Anthropocene and provide examples that underscore the need for continued collection of museum specimens. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene’.

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Section: (B) Museum Specimens Track Organic Mercury Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Schmitt

Cook

Zamudio

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…However, bats are also one of the most threatened taxa (Voigt and Kingston, 2016;IUCN, 2018). While bat species diversity is higher in tropical regions, where land-use changes and mercury contamination are widespread, little work has been done to understand the effects of such environmental changes on tropical species as compared to other regions (Struebig et al, 2008(Struebig et al, , 2009Syaripuddin et al, 2014;Kumar et al, 2018). It is therefore important to identify potential threats for bats if we are to develop evidence-based landscape planning to limit anthropogenic impacts on bats and other wildlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of land use on an insectivorous tropical bat: The importance of mercury, physio-immunology and trophic position

Czirják

Bustamante

Bumrungsri

et al. 2019

Science of The Total Environment

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Deforestation, agricultural intensification, and habitat homogenization are critical threats to biodiversity in Southeast Asia. Limited information is available on the trophic and physiological responses of tropical animals to these environmental changes. The wrinklelipped free-tailed bat Chaerephon plicatus is a cave roosting species that is experiencing population declines across Southeast Asia, where landscapes have been drastically modified.In our study site in central Thailand, we tested the hypothesis that wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bats living in landscapes that contrast in heterogeneity and land-use differed in mercury contamination, trophic position and physio-immunological status. Bats from less heterogeneous landscapes (dominated by rice crops, absence of large forest patches) occupied a lower trophic position than conspecifics from more heterogeneous landscapes (including large forest patches). Additionally, bats from these habitats had lower concentrations of mercury in erythrocytes, lower body mass, higher antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD), lower antioxidant glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and lower values of the GPx/SOD ratio than bats from more heterogeneous landscapes. Individual bat mercury concentrations were positively correlated with body mass and two immune markers (lysozyme and immunoglobulin) but were negatively correlated with plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity. Our results suggest various links between landscape heterogeneity, mercury accumulation/exposure, and health status of wildlife in Southeast Asian countries.

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“…During travel to and from the Green Lab and through discussion with instructors and citizens of Peru, each participant learned first-hand about regional factors that affect the conservation of biodiversity. Southeastern Madre de Dios faces acute threats from artisanal and small-scale gold mining that include habitat destruction and the bioaccumulation of mercury in local wildlife (Kumar, Divoll, Ganguli, Trama, & Lamborg, 2018;Moreno-Brush et al, 2017). At this time, no comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the fauna and flora of the region exists, although this would greatly enhance biodiversity assessments and monitoring in the face of these threats.…”

Section: Course Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomics in the jungle: using portable sequencing as a teaching tool in field courses

Watsa

Pomerantz

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Genetic research is a rapidly evolving field of study that is increasingly being utilized as a tool for wildlife conservation. However, researchers and science educators in remote areas can often find it difficult to access the latest genetic technologies, often due to a combination of high costs, bulky equipment, and lack of infrastructure. Recent technological innovations are resulting in portable, low-cost instruments that enable next-generation sequencing in remote environments, offering new opportunities to generate a more widespread network of trained conservation scientists, particularly within regions of high biodiversity. What is currently lacking are formalized educational efforts to teach participants in biodiverse areas with hands-on training in molecular biology and real-time DNA sequencing techniques. To address this challenge, we report the design and summarized feedback/outcomes of a conservation genetics field course, called 'Genomics in the Jungle', that took place at a field research station in the Amazon rainforest of southeastern Peru. The program was established by a small US-based NGO, Field Projects International, and facilitated by a local eco-tourism company in Peru, Inkaterra. We utilized portable sequencing technologies from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and in-kind support from the manufacturers MiniPCR, MiniOne Systems, Promega, and New England Biolabs. Participants included a mix of non-Peruvian students and local/regional students, some of which had no prior exposure to a genetics laboratory. Overall, we maintain that portable sequencing technology is democratizing scientific research and conservation efforts, and is a major step forward for science educators and conservationists.

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Presence of artisanal gold mining predicts mercury bioaccumulation in five genera of bats (Chiroptera)

Cited by 25 publications

References 61 publications

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Museum specimens of terrestrial vertebrates are sensitive indicators of environmental change in the Anthropocene

Impacts of land use on an insectivorous tropical bat: The importance of mercury, physio-immunology and trophic position

Genomics in the jungle: using portable sequencing as a teaching tool in field courses

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