Assessment of Mercury Concentrations in Liver and Hair tissues of Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) in Central Mazandaran Province Coastline

Subject Areas : environmental management

Hassan Malvandi ¹ ( MSc Student, Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran )
Abbas Esmaili-Saria ² ( Professor, Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran )
Seyed Mahmoud Ghasempouria ³ ( PhD. Student Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran )

Received: 2010-01-05 Accepted : 2010-03-03 Published : 2014-05-22

Keywords: Mercury, Liver, hair, morphometric variables, Jackal (Canis aureus), Mazandaran&#x0D, &#x0D, province,

Abstract :

Introduction: The goal of this study was determination of concentration of mercury in hairand liver tissues of the golden jackal (Canis aureus), and to determine the relation betweenthe mercury concentration in liver and hair and body weight and length, and sex. These datawere then used to evaluate the suitability of using hair as a noninvasive technique for determiningbody burdens of mercury.Materials and Methods: Liver and hair samples from golden jackal were collected from Noorin the central coastline Mazandaran province. The samples of this study were taken fromroad-killed. The mercury was measured by the LECO AMA 254 Advanced Mercury Analyzer (USA)according to ASTM, standard No. D-6722.Result and Discussion: There wasn’t any significant difference neither between sexes nor in tissues.On the contrary, positive and significant differences (p>0.05) were found between mercury level inhair with weight and length of body. Mercury level was generally low; they do not reach levels thatare known to cause potential adverse effects in animals. It's probably to be a first study for goldenjackal for this purpose, and also this probe suggested easy and non-invasive sampling

References:

1. Zhang, L., Wong, M.H., 2007. Environmental mercury contaminant in china: source and impacts. Environmental international, 33, 108-121


2. Ben-David, M., Duffy, L. K., Blundell, G. M., Bowyer, R. T.,2001. Natural exposure of coastal river Otters to mercury: relation to age, diet, and survival. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 20, No. 9, 1986–1992


3. Sillero-Zubiri, C., Hoffmann, M., Macdonald, D.W., 2004. Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. 245pp


4. Gerstenberger, S. L., Cross, C. L., Divine, D. D., Gulmatico, M. L., Rothweiler, A. M., 2006. Assessment of mercury concentration in small mammals collected Near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Environ Toxical, 21, 583-589.


5. Haynes, D. Carter, S. Gaus, C. Muller, J. Dennison W., 2005. Organochlorine and heavy metal concentrations in blubber and liver tissue collected from Queensland (Australia) dugong (Dugong dugon). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 51, 361–369.


6. Lord, C.G., Gaines, K.F., Boring, C.S., Brisbin, I.L., Gochfeld, M., Burger, J. 2002. Raccoon (Procyon lotor) as a bioindicator of mercury contamination at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. Arch Environ Contam Toxical 43:356–363.


7. Evans, R.D., Addison, U.E.M., Villeneuve, J.Y., MacDonald, K.S., Joachim, D.G., 1998.  An examination of spatial variation in mercury concentrations in otter Lutra canadensis in south-central Ontario. The Science of the Total Environment, 213, 239-245.


8. Fortin, C., Beauchamp, G., Dansereau, M., Lariviere, N., Belanger D., 2001. Spatial Variation in Mercury Concentrations in Wild Mink and River Otter Carcasses from the James Bay Territory, Que´bec, Canada. Arch Environ Contam Toxocol, 40, 121–127.


9. Fonseca, F.R. D., Malm, O., Waldemarin, H. F., 2005. Mercurylevels in tissues of Giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) from the Rio Negro, Pantanal, Brazil. Environmental Research, 98, 368–371.


10. Evans, R.D., Addison, E. M., Villeneuve, J. Y., MacDonald, K. S., Joachim, D. G., 2000.Distribution of Inorganic and Methylmercury among Tissues in Mink (Mustela vison) and Otter (Lutra canadensis), Environmental Reseach Section A 84, 133-139.


11. Gamberg, M., Biola, G., Stern, G., Roach, P., 2005. Cadmium, mercury and selenium concentrations in mink (Mustela vision) from Yukan, Canada. Science of the Total Environment. 351-532, 523-529.


12. Porcella, D. B., Zillioux, E.J., Grieb, T.M., Newman, J.R., West. G. B., 2004. Retrospective study of mercury  in Raccoon (Procyon lotor) in South Florida. Ecotoxicology, 13, 207–221.


13. Sakai, T., Ito, M., Aoki, H., Aimi, K., Niyaya, R., 1995. Hair mercury concentrations in cats and dogs in Central Japan. British Veterinary. 151(2): 215-219.


14. Newman, J., Zillioux, E., Rich, E., Liang, L., Newman, C., 2004. Historical and Other Patterns of Monomethyl and Inorganic Mercury in the Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 48, 75–80.


15.  Dunlap, K. L., Reynolds, A.J., Bowers, P. M., Duffy, L. K., 2007. Hair analysis in sled dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) illustrates a linkage of mercury exposure along the Yukon River with human subsistence food systems. Science of the Total Environment, 385, 80–85.


16. Gamberg, M. Braune, B. M. 1999. Contaminant residue levels in arctic wolves (Canis lupus) from the Yukon territory, Canada: The Science of the Total Environment, 243/244: 329-338.


17. Piskorova, L., Vasilkova, Z., Krupicer. I., Czeck, J. 2003. Heavy metal residues in tissues of wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in the Central Zemplin region of the Slovak Republic. Anim. Sice, 48. (3): 134-138.


18. Hoekstra, P.F., Braune, B.M., Elkin B., Armstrong, F.A.J., Muir, D.C.G., 2003. Concentrations of selected essential and non-essential elements in arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo) from the Canadian Arctic. The Science of the Total Environment 309: 81–92.


19. Stevens, R.T., Ashwood, T.L., Sleeman, J.M., 1997. Mercury in hair of muskrats and mink from US Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 58, 720–5.


20. Shore, R. F., Casulli, A., Bologov, V., Wienburg, C.L.,   Afsar, A.,  Toyne, P. DellOmo, G. 2001. Organochlorine pesticide, polychlorinated biphenyl and heavy metal concentrations in wolves (Canis lupus L.1758) from North-West Russia: The Science of the Total Environment, 280: 45-54