Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:58:44.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mercury in lichens and reindeer hair from Alaska: 2005–2007 pilot survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2009

James A. Lokken ,
Gregory L. Finstad ,
Kriya L. Dunlap  and
Lawrence K. Duffy
James A. Lokken
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA ([email protected])
Gregory L. Finstad
Affiliation:
Reindeer Research Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Kriya L. Dunlap
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Lawrence K. Duffy
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Reindeer and caribou are terrestrial herbivores, that feed on lichens and are used for commercial and subsistence food products. Caribou are a key component of the arctic food web and the bioaccumulation of toxic contaminants, such as mercury (Hg), needs to be monitored to establish a baseline as the arctic environment is impacted by both climate change and future industrial development. A changing climate in Alaska is influencing plant species composition, fire regime, melting and flooding events, and thus, impacting Hg bioavailability in the food chain. Industrial development in Asia is also projected to increase the atmospheric global pool of Hg from increased coal combustion. Reindeer, a domesticated representative of caribou, can be used as a terrestrial biomonitor for metal exposure. In this study total mercury concentrations were measured in lichens and in hair of grazing reindeer on defined ranges across Alaska to establish a baseline for future hypothesis development and testing regarding Hg deposition. The Hg mean level for Seward Peninsula lichens on the Davis Range was 37.4 ng g−1, on the Gray Range 47.1 ng g−1, on the Kakaruk Range 42.2 ng g−1, and 41.7 ng g−1 on the Noyakuk Range. Lichen Hg levels on St. Lawrence Island was 46.6 ng g−1. Methyl mercury levels in lichens were found to be below detection levels. Reindeer grazing on these ranges had mean Hg hair levels of 14.6 ng g−1 (Davis herd), 83.4 ng g−1 (Gray herd), and 40.3 ng g−1 (Noyakuk herd). Two reindeer on St. Lawrence Island had an average of Hg of 43.0 ng g−1. Sample sizes ranged from n = 2 to n = 11. Hg mean levels in lichen on Seward Peninsula were higher than Hg means of two ranges in northern Mongolia. The Hg levels observed in this study indicate that Hg levels in Alaska are low at this time and pose no risk to the health of reindeer or human subsistence harvesters. A significant relationship between Hg in lichens on the ranges and the Hg in reindeer on those ranges has not been established. There are insufficient data on Hg levels in many areas of the north and more information is needed on location specific and time trends in Hg concentrations. Lichens and reindeer hair provide a good, non-invasive method of monitoring metal exposure changes in Alaskan ecosystems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , October 2009 , pp. 368 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aastrup, P., Riget, F., Dietz, R., and Asmund, G.. 2000. Lead, zinc, cadmium, mercury, selenium and copper in Greenland caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Science of the Total Environment 245: 149–159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
AMAP (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme). 2003. AMAP: human health in the Arctic Oslo: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.Google Scholar
Balogh, S.J., Swain, E.B., and Nallet, Y.H.. 2006. Elevated methylmercury concentrations and loading during flooding in Minnesota rivers. Science of the Total Environment 368: 138–148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bhamra, R.K., and Costa, M.. 1993. Trace elements In: Lippman, M. (editor). Environmental toxicants. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Press.Google Scholar
Burger, J., and Gochfeld, M.. 2001. On developing bioindicators for human and ecological health. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 66: 23–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Kosson, D., Powers, C.W., Friedlander, B., Eichelberger, J., Barnes, D., Duffy, L.K., Jewett, S.C., and Bolz, C.D.. 2005. Science, policy, and stakeholders: developing a consensus science plan for Amchitka Island, Aleutians, Alaska. Environmental Management 35: 557–568.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conti, M.E. 2008. Lichens as bioindicators of air pollution. In: Conti, M.E. (editor). Biological monitoring: theory and application. South Hampton:WIT Press: 111–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dehn, L.A., Follman, E.H., Rosa, C., Duffy, L.K., Thomas, D.L., Bratton, G.R., Taylor, R.J., and O'Hara, T.M.. 2006. Stable isotope and trace element status of subsistence-hunted bowhead and beluga whales in Alaska and gray whales in Chukotka. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52: 301–319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duffy, L.K., Duffy, R.S., Finstad, G., and Gerlach, S.C.. 2005a. A note on mercury levels in the hair of Alaskan reindeer. Science of the Total Environment 339: 273–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duffy, L.K., Hallock, R., Finstad, G., and Bowyer, R.T.. 2005b. Noninvasive environmental monitoring in Alaskan Reindeer. American Journal of Environmental Science 1: 249–253.Google Scholar
Duffy, L.K., Kaiser, C., Ackley, C., and Richter, K.S.. 2001. Mercury in the hair of large Alaskan herbivores: routes of exposure. Alces 37: 293–301.Google Scholar
Dunlap, K.D., Reynolds, A.J., Bowers, P.M., and 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.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ebi, K.L., and McGregor, G.. 2008. Climate change, tropospheric oxone and particulate matter, and health impacts. Environmental Health Perspectives 116: 1449–1455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Egeland, G.M., Feyk, L.A., and Middaugh, J.P.. 1998. Use of traditional foods in health and diet in Alaska: risks and perspectives. Alaska Epidemiological Bulletin 2: 1–140.Google Scholar
Ewing, S. 1996. The great Alaska nature factbook. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest books.Google Scholar
Finstad, G.K. 2008. Applied range of reindeer on the Seward Peninsula. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Fairbanks.Google Scholar
Finstad, G.K., and Kielland, K.. 2005. Climate change, environmental variation and reindeer productivity on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Proceeding of the Arctic Science Conference 56: 17–18.Google Scholar
Finstad, G.K., Steele, C., and Gray, T.. 2006. Range management in Alaska: reindeer herders on the fast track. St Louis, MO: Society for Range Management (proceedings: 3rd National Conference on Grazing Lands): 65.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, W.F., Engstron, D.R., Mason, R.P., and Nater, E.A.. 1998. The case for atmospheric mercury contamination in remote areas. Environmental Science and Technology 32: 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froslie, A., Nordheim, G., Ramback, J.P., and Stiennes, E.. 1984. Levels of trace elements in the liver from Norwegian moose, reindeer and red deer in relation to atmospheric deposition. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 25: 333–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamberg, M., Braune, B., Davey, E., Elkin, B., Hockstra, P.F., Kennedy, D., MacDonald, C., Muir, D., Nirwal, A., Wayland, M., and Zeeb, B.. 2005. Spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in terrestrial biota from the Canadian Arctic. Science of the Total Environment 351–353: 148–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia, E., and Carignan, R.. 2000. Mercury concentrations in northern pike from boreal lakes with logged, burned or undisturbed catchments. Canadian Journal of Fish and Aquatic Science 57: 129–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerlach, S.C., Duffy, L.K., Murray, M.S., Bowers, P.M., Adams, R., and Verbrugge, D.A.. 2006. An exploratory study of total mercury levels in archaeological caribou hair from northwest Alaska. Chemosphere 65: 1909–1914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horvat, M., Jeran, Z., Spric, Z., Jacimovic, R., and Miklavcic, V.. 2000. Mercury and other elements in lichens near the Naftaplin gas treatment plant, Molve, Croatia. Journal of Environmental Monitoring 2: 139–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hylander, L.D., and Meili, M.. 2003. 500 years of mercury production: global annual inventory by region until 2000 and associated emissions. Science of the Total Environment 304: 13–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ikingura, J.R., and Akagi, H.. 2002. Lichens as a good bioindicator of air pollution by mercury in small-scale gold mining areas, Tanzania. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 68: 699–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inga, B. 2007. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) feeding on lichens and mushrooms: traditional ecological knowledge among reindeer-herding Sami in northern Sweden. Rangifer 27: 92–106.Google Scholar
Lindberg, S., Bullock, R., Ebinghaus, R., Engstrom, D., Feng, X., Fitzgerald, W., Pirrone, N., Presibo, I., and Seigneur, C.. 2007. A synthesis of progress and uncertainties in attributing the sources of mercury in deposition. Ambio 36: 19–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loppi, S., and Bonini, I.. 2000. Lichens and mosses as biomonitors of trace elements in areas with thermal springs and fumarole activity (Mt. Amiata, central Italy). Chemosphere 41: 1333–1336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinez-Cortizas, A., Pontevedra-Pombal, X., Garcia-Rodedja, E., Novoa-Munoz, J.C., and Shotyk, W.. 1999. Mercury in a Spanish peat bog: archive of climate change and atmospheric metal deposition. Science 284: 939–942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moen, J. 2008. Climate change: effects on the ecological basis for reindeer husbandry in Sweden. Ambio 37: 304–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munthe, J., Hellsten, S., and Zetterberg, T.. 2007. Mobilization of mercury and methylmercury from forest soils after a severe storm-fell event. Ambio 36: 111–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Hara, T., Dasher, D., George, J.C., and Woshner, V.. 1999. Radionuclide levels in caribou of northern Alaska in 1995–1996. Arctic 52: 279–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riget, F., Ashmund, G., and Aastrup, P.. 2000. The use of a lichen (Cetraria nivalis) and a moss (Rhacomitrium lanuginosum) as monitors for atmospheric deposition in Greenland. Science of the Total Environment 245: 137–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, D.M., Berkes, F., Bodaly, R.A., Hecky, R.E., Kelly, C.A., and Rudd, J.W.. 1997. Large-scale impacts of hydroelectric development. Environmental Review 5: 27–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robillard, S., Beauchamp, G., Paillard, G., and Belanger, D.. 2002. Levels of cadmium, lead, mercury and 123-ccsium on caribou (Rangifer tarandus) tissues from Northern Quebec. Arctic 55: 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheuhammer, A.M., Meyers, M.N., Sandheinrich, M.B., and Murray, M.W.. 2007. Effects of environmental methylmercury on the health of wild birds, mammals and fish. Ambio 36: 12–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SNAP (Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning). 2008. Projected climate change scenarios in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. URL: www.SNAP.uaf.edu (accessed 18 November 2008).Google Scholar
Sun, L., Yin, X., Liu, X., Zho, R., Xe, Z., and Wang, Y.. 2006. A 2000-year record of mercury and ancient civilizations in seal hairs from King George Island, west Antarctica. Science of the Total Environment 368: 236–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, E.B., Jakus, P.M., Rice, G., Lupi, F., Maxson, P.A, Dacyna, I.M., Penn, A., Spiegel, S.J., and Veiga, M.M.. 2007. Socioeconomic consequences of mercury use and pollution. Ambio 36: 45–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turetsky, M.R., Harden, J.W., Friedli, H.R., Flannigan, M., Payne, N., Crock, J., and Radke, L.. 2006. Wildfires threaten mercury stocks in northern soil. Geophysical Research Letters 33: L16403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, C.S.C., Duzgoren-Aydin, N.S., Aydin, A., and Wong, M.H.. 2006. Sources and trends of environmental mercury emissions in Asia. Science of the Total Environment 368: 649–662.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed