Tissue Distribution and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Mercury and Other Elements in Northern Populations of Wolverine (Gulo gulo).

ABSTRACT: Wolverines are facultative scavengers that feed near the top of terrestrial food chains. We characterized concentrations of mercury and other trace elements in tissues of wolverine from a broad geographic area, representing much of their contemporary distribution in northwestern North America. We obtained tissues from 504 wolverines, from which mercury was measured on muscle (n = 448), kidney (n = 222), liver (n = 148), hair (n = 130), and brain (n = 52). In addition, methylmercury, seven trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, nickel, selenium), and arsenic compounds were measured on a subset of samples. Concentrations of mercury and other trace elements varied between tissues and were generally highest in kidney compared to brain, liver and muscle. Mercury was predomina

SUBMITTER: Chetelat J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11377595 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature