Pronounced declines in heavy metal burdens of Minnesotan mammals over the last century.

ABSTRACT: Humans have drastically altered the ecology of heavy metals, which can have negative effects on animal development and neural functioning. Many species have shown the ability to adapt to anthropogenic increases in metal pollution, but such evolutionary responses will depend on the extent of metal variation over space and time. For terrestrial vertebrates, it is unclear how metal exposure has changed over time: some studies suggest metal content peaked with the enactment of policies controlling lead emissions, while other studies suggest metal levels peaked at least a century earlier. We used 162 specimens of four mammal species (a mouse, shrew, bat, and squirrel) to ask how metal content of the fur and skin has changed over a 90-year time period, and impacts on individual performance (body

SUBMITTER: Snell-Rood EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11374866 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature