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Exposure of the endangered golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) to heavy metals: a comparison of wild and captive animals

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Abstract

Golden monkeys are endemic to China and of high conservation concern. Conservation strategies include captive breeding, but the success of captive breeding programs may be being compromised by environmental pollution. Heavy metal exposure of wild and captive golden monkeys living in the Qinling Mountains was assessed by measuring fecal metal concentrations (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Mn, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn). Captive monkeys were exposed to higher concentrations of As, Hg, Pb, and Cr than monkeys living in the wild, while high background levels of Mn led to high exposure of wild monkeys. Seasonal variations in metal exposures were detected for both wild and captive monkeys; possible reasons being seasonal changes in either diet (wild monkeys) or metal content of food (captive monkeys). Coal combustion, waste incineration, and traffic-related activities were identified as possible sources of heavy metals exposure for captive animals. Efforts to conserve this endangered primate are potentially compromised by metal pollutants derived from increasing anthropogenic activities. Providing captive animals with uncontaminated food and relocating captive breeding centers away from sources of pollution will reduce pollutant exposure; but ultimately, there is a need to improve environmental quality by controlling pollutants at source.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a project from State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology and Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZZBS1303). We also appreciate the editor and reviewers for their valuable comments that greatly improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SKLLQG, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 10, Feng-Hui South Road, Xi’an, 710075, China

    Qiang Liu & Yi-ping Chen

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qiang Liu

  3. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Lorraine Maltby

  4. Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Conservation and Breeding Center, Xi’an, 710402, China

    Qing-yi Ma

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  1. Qiang Liu
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  2. Yi-ping Chen
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  4. Qing-yi Ma
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Correspondence to Yi-ping Chen.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Liu, Q., Chen, Yp., Maltby, L. et al. Exposure of the endangered golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) to heavy metals: a comparison of wild and captive animals. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 6713–6720 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3877-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3877-5

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