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The Baseline
Published in Karlheinz Spitz, John Trudinger, Mining and the Environment, 2019
Karlheinz Spitz, John Trudinger
Certain plants and animals can serve as sentinel species, providing early warning of impending impacts of environmental exposure. High trophic-level organisms (at the top of the food chain) occupy a similar niche to many human consumers and are often exposed to similar types of environmental contaminants through daily dietary intake. Many fundamental physiological functions in wild animals and humans are similar. If a chemical at a certain concentration is causing a certain effect in a wild animal, it could be taken as an indication of the same effect occurring in humans. A substance that is neurotoxic to birds is very likely to be so to humans and a substance that is estrogenic in fish is likely to be so in humans. Trace metals in the environment and their effects on wildlife provide a good example of this. Their persistence and tendency to bio-accumulate in some organisms means that some metals bio- magnify to high concentrations from water in aquatic systems through the food chain to the tissues of top predators. Evaluating the patterns, levels, trends, and effects of metals in higher trophic-level consumers contributes to the understanding of both the contamination of ecosystems and the risks posed to the health of humans and wildlife. Even when the concentrations are below the limit of detection in water they may easily be measured in animals. Wildlife examples have shown that some human groups may be at increased risk because of their preferential habit of consuming fish and other aquatic food.
Sentinel species for biomonitoring and biosurveillance of environmental heavy metals in Nigeria
Published in Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part C, 2022
Cecilia Nwadiuto Amadi, Chiara Frazzoli, Orish Ebere Orisakwe
Biomonitoring informs on the internal exposure, that is the amount of a chemical that is taken up by the body from aggregate routes (ingestion, inhalation, skin contact) and sources (feed, water, air, dust, soil) and distributed in target tissues. Certain characteristics define a useful sentinel species, these include; high trophic status, restricted home range, widespread environmental distribution and capacity to bio-accumulate pollutants. A key factor in planning and assessing biomonitoring studies of a toxic metal is knowledge of its toxicokinetic properties, including absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and half-life.170 For instance, muscle tissue is not very important as a repository for most of the elements, while it is obviously very important for food safety. While the peripheral blood generally reflects short-term exposure, feathers are a better indicator of long-term exposures because trace elements accumulate continually throughout the period of feather growth.188 Also excretory matrices like milk generally reflect the body burden.
Mallards Anas platyrhynchos shot in Eastern Poland: ecological risk evaluated by analysis of trace elements in liver
Published in Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 2019
Agnieszka Sujak, Dariusz Wiącek, Dariusz Jakubas, Andrzej Komosa, Ignacy Kitowski
Waterbirds, in that ducks, are often considered as bioindicators of conditions encountered in aquatic environment, at both local and regional spatial scales (Amat and Green 2010; Plessl et al. 2017). They often serve as sentinel species for natural and man-made toxicological contamination in the environment. The Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos is the most widespread duck in the world, with an estimated global population of more than 18 million breeding birds (del Hoyo et al. 1992; Delany and Scott 2006). It is a model species in ecology, genetics, and epidemiology, as well as a flagship species in wetland conservation and management (Söderquist et al. 2013). It is also an important game species; ca 4.5 million individuals are shot annually in Central and Western Europe (Dalby et al. 2013). Their internal organs may serve as indicators of environmental pollutions including heavy metals because of their wide distribution, spatiotemporal exposure to pollution as well as a relatively high position in the food chain. Conversely, similarly to other wild ducks, Mallards serve as an important diet component of local inhabitants offering both organic compounds as well as trace elements (Cooper 1995; Kalisinska et al. 2004; Binkowski 2012).
Advances in science and applications of air pollution monitoring: A case study on oil sands monitoring targeting ecosystem protection
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2019
J.R. Brook, S.G. Cober, M. Freemark, T. Harner, S.M. Li, J. Liggio, P. Makar, B. Pauli
The Wildlife Contaminants and Toxicology Component’s main objective was to assess the health of wildlife species that are potentially exposed to OS-generated contaminants. In terms of direct wildlife impacts, the key chemicals of concern were PACs, Hg and MeHg, trace metals, and naphthenic acids. Each has the potential to cause toxicity, and some can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in biota and may persist in the environment (Achten and Andersson 2015; Clarkson 1993; Clemente and Fedorak 2005). A sentinel species (see Section S5.3 of the supplemental material) approach was adopted to gain a better understanding of exposure routes, impacts, and the biological mechanisms involved, potentially enabling development of a long-term wildlife contaminant and toxicology monitoring program. As such, in-depth monitoring and research projects were carried out with multiple species to assess the presence and effects of contaminants in plant communities, in terrestrial and wetland species, and in downstream receiving environments.