Mink and otters are valuable wildlife resources and management efforts in North America and Europe have been directed towards re-establishing extirpated populations or expanding existing populations. The similarity of otter and mink habits and trophic status may allow inferences about the suitability of the habitat that is occupied by one species (mink) for the other species that is absent (otter). Remnant otter populations in Illinois have not expanded even though suitable habitat appears to be available and is occupied by mink. Low contaminant concentrations in tissues of mink trapped in a habitat where otters are not found and metal and organochlorine concentrations in tissues of otters incidentally collected by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, suggest that environmental contaminants should not hinder natural expansion of otters in Illinois.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams S.M. (1990) Status and use of biological indicators for evaluating the effects of stress on fish. Am. Fish. Soc. Symp. 8, 1–8.
Anderson-Bledsoe K.L. and Scanlon P.F. (1983) Heavy metal concentrations in tissues of Virginia river otters. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 30, 442–7.
Aulerich R.J. and Ringer R.K. (1979) Toxic effects of dietary polybrominated biphenyls on mink. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 8, 487–98.
Aulerich R.J., Ringer R.K. and Iwamoto S. (1974) Effects of dietary mercury on mink. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 2, 43–51.
Bluett, R.D. and Hubert, G.F., Jr (1991) Fur Harvest Survey, 1990–91. Ill. Dept. of Conserv.
Blus L.J., Henny C.J. and Mulhern B.M. (1987) Concentrations of metals in mink and other mammals from Washington and Idaho. Environ. Pollut. 44, 307–18.
Brown, L.G. and Yeager, L.E. (1943) Survey of the Illinois fur resource. Ill. Nat. History Surv.
Calabrese E.J., Aulerich R.J. and Padgett G.A. (1992) Mink as a predictive model in toxicology. Drug Metab. Rev. 24, 559–78.
Chanin P.R.F. and Jefferies D.J. (1978) The decline of the otter (Lutra lutra) in Britain: an analysis of hunting records and discussion of causes. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 10, 305–28.
Cranbrook (1977) The status of otter (L. lutra L.) in Britain in 1977. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 9, 305–22.
Erickson, D.W. (1981) Furbearer harvest mechanics: an examination of variables influencing fur harvests in Missouri. In J.A., Chapman and D., Pursley (eds) The Worldwide Furbearer Conference Proceedings. Maryland: Worldwide Furbearer Conference.
Foley R.E., Rackling S.J., Sloan R.J. and Brown M.K. (1988) Organochlorine and mercury residues in wild mink and otter: comparison with fish. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 7, 363–74.
Halbrook R.S., Jenkins J.H., Bush P.B. and Seabolt N.D. (1994) Sublethal concentrations of mercury in river otters: monitoring environmental contamination. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 27, 306–10.
Henny, C.J., Blus, L.J., Gregory, S.V. and Stafford, C.J. (1981) PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in wild mink and river otters from Oregon. In J.A., Chapman and D., Pursley (eds) The Worldwide Furbearer Conference Proceedings. Maryland: Worldwide Furbearer Conference.
Hill E.P. and Lovett J.W. (1975) Pesticide residues in beaver and river otter from Alabama. Proc. Ann. Conf. Southeast Assoc. Game Fish Comm. 29, 365–9.
Hubert G.F. (1985) Managing the mink. Outdoor Highlights 13, 14–15.
IESPB (1994) Checklist of Endangered and Threatened Animals and Plants of Illinois. Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, Illinois Department of Conservation.
Jenkins J.H. (1983) The status and management of the river otter (Lutra canadensis) in North America. Acta. Zool. Fennica 174, 233–5.
Kucera E. (1983) Mink and otter as indicators of mercury in Manitoba waters. Can. J. Zool. 61, 2250–6.
Leonards, P.E.G., Smit, M.D., de Jongh, A.W.J.J. and van Hattum, B.G.M. (1994) Evaluation of Dose-Response Relationships for the Effects of PCBs on the Reproduction of Mink (Mustela vision). Institute for Environmental Studies, Free University of Amsterdam, Dutch Otterstation Foundation.
Mason C.F. (1989) Water pollution and otter distribution: a review. Lutra 32, 97–131.
O'Connor, D.J. and Nielsen, S.W. (1981) Environmental survey of methylmercury levels in wild mink (Mustela vision) and otter (Lutra canadensis) from the northeastern United States and experimental pathology of methylmercurialism in the otter. In J.A., Chapman and D., Pursley (eds) The Worldwide Furbearer Conference Proceedings. Maryland: Worldwide Furbearer Conference.
Ogle M.C., Scanlon P.F., Kirkpatrick R.L. and Gwynn J.V. (1985). Heavy metal concentrations in tissues of mink in Virginia. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 35, 29–37.
Ringer R.K. (1983) Toxicology of PCBs in mink and ferrets. In F.M. Dlltri and M.A. Kamrin (eds) PCBs: human and environmental hazards. Boston: Butterworth Pub.
Smit, M.D., Leonards, P.E.G., van Hattum, B. and de Jongh, A.W.J.J. (1994) PCBs in European otter (Lutra lutra) populations. Institute for Environmental Studies, Free University of Amsterdam, Dutch Otterstation Foundation.
Stejskal S.M., Aulerich R.J., Slanker M.R., Braselton W.E., Lehning E.J. and Napolitano A.C. (1989) Element concentrations in livers and kidneys of ranch mink. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 1, 343–8.
Stowe H.D., Braselton W.E., Kaneene W.E. and Slanker M. (1985) Multielement assays of bovine tissue specimens by inductively coupled argon plasma emission spectroscopy. Am. J. Vet. Res. 46, 561–5.
Wren C.D. (1985) Probable case of mercury poisoning in a wild otter, Lutra canadensis, in northwestern Ontario. Can. Field-Nat. 99, 112–14.
Wren C.D., Stokes P.M. and Fischer K.L. (1986) Mercury levels in Ontario mink and otter relative to food levels and environmental acidification. Can. J. Zool. 64, 2854–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Halbrook, R.S., Woolf, A., Hubert, G.F. et al. Contaminant concentrations in Illinois mink and otter. Ecotoxicology 5, 103–114 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119049
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119049