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Elevated mercury exposure and neurochemical alterations in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) from a site with historical mercury contamination

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Abstract

Despite evidence of persistent methylmercury (MeHg) contamination in the South River (Virginia, USA) ecosystem, there is little information concerning MeHg-associated neurological impacts in resident wildlife. Here we determined mercury (Hg) concentrations in tissues of insectivorous little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) collected from a reference site and a MeHg-contaminated site in the South River ecosystem. We also explored whether neurochemical biomarkers (monoamine oxidase, MAO; acetylcholinesterase, ChE; muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, mAChR; N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor, NMDAR) previously shown to be altered by MeHg in other wildlife were associated with brain Hg levels in these bats. Concentrations of Hg (total and MeHg) in tissues were significantly higher (10–40 fold difference) in South River bats when compared to reference sites. Mean tissue mercury levels (71.9 ppm dw in liver, 7.14 ppm dw in brain, 132 ppm fw in fur) in the South River bats exceed (sub)-clinical thresholds in mammals. When compared to the South River bats, animals from the reference site showed a greater ability to demethylate MeHg in brain (33.1% of total Hg was MeHg vs. 65.5%) and liver (8.9% of total Hg was MeHg vs. 50.8%) thus suggesting differences in their ability to detoxify and eliminate Hg. In terms of Hg-associated neurochemical biomarker responses, interesting biphasic responses were observed with an inflection point between 1 and 5 ppm dw in the brain. In the reference bats Hg-associated decreases in MAO (r = −0.61; p < 0.05) and ChE (r = −0.79; p < 0.01) were found in a manner expected but these were not found in the bats from the contaminated site. Owing to high Hg exposures, differences in Hg metabolism, and the importance of the aforementioned neurochemicals in multiple facets of animal health, altered or perhaps even a lack of expected neurochemical responses in Hg-contaminated bats raise questions about the ecological and physiological impacts of Hg on the bat population as well as the broader ecosystem in the South River.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI). We thank Rick Reynolds from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) for providing project advice. Also, special thanks to Larry, Josh, and the crew at the Augusta Forestry Center for their generosity in allowing use of their facility and field equipment. We offer a special thanks to Dan Cristol from the College of William and Mary and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists Casey Huck, Bita Zahedi, Tim Divoll, provided dedicated field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Dong-Ha Nam & Niladri Basu

  2. Biodiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME, USA

    David Yates, Pedro Ardapple & David C. Evers

  3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    John Schmerfeld

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  1. Dong-Ha Nam
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  2. David Yates
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Correspondence to Niladri Basu.

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Nam, DH., Yates, D., Ardapple, P. et al. Elevated mercury exposure and neurochemical alterations in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) from a site with historical mercury contamination. Ecotoxicology 21, 1094–1101 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-012-0864-9

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