Metal contamination of river otters in North Carolina

Sanders, Charles W.; Pacifici, Krishna; Hess, George R.; Olfenbuttel, Colleen; DePerno, Christopher S.

doi:10.1007/s10661-020-8106-8

Published: 28 January 2020

Metal contamination of river otters in North Carolina

Charles W. Sanders II ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5711-2324¹,
Krishna Pacifici¹,
George R. Hess¹,
Colleen Olfenbuttel² &
Christopher S. DePerno¹

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 192, Article number: 146 (2020) Cite this article

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Abstract

Aquatic apex predators are vulnerable to environmental contaminants due to biomagnification. North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) populations should be closely monitored across their range due to point and nonpoint pollution sources. Nonetheless, no information exists on environmental contaminants in the North Carolina otter population. Metals and metalloids occur naturally across the landscape, are essential for cellular function, and become toxic when concentrated unnaturally. We conducted our study across the three Furbearer Management Units (FMU) and 14 river basins of North Carolina. We determined the concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, thallium, and zinc in liver and kidney samples from 317 otters harvested from 2009 to 2016. Arsenic, lead, and thallium samples were tested at levels below the limit of detection. With the exception of cadmium, we detected all other elements at higher levels in the liver compared with the kidney. Specifically, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, and zinc levels differed by tissue type analyzed. Most element concentrations remained stable or increased with otter age. We detected higher levels of mercury and selenium in the Lower Pee Dee and Cape Fear river basins. River basins within the Mountain FMU were higher in cadmium, copper, iron, lead, and zinc, whereas the Coastal Plain FMU was lower in cobalt and manganese. None of the elements occurred at toxic levels. Our research establishes baseline concentration levels for North Carolina, which will benefit future monitoring efforts and provide insight into future changes in the otter population.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Program, and the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program at North Carolina State University for funding. We thank S. Ryan for countless hours collecting tissue samples. We thank the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostics Laboratory for the professional and relatively quick lab work. Finally, we thank the North Carolina Trappers’ Association and its members for providing the otter carcasses and for supporting this project.

Funding

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Program, and the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program at North Carolina State University funded this study.

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Affiliations

Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
Charles W. Sanders II, Krishna Pacifici, George R. Hess & Christopher S. DePerno
Surveys and Research Program, Wildlife Management Division, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Pittsboro, NC, 27312, USA
Colleen Olfenbuttel

Authors

Charles W. Sanders II
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Krishna Pacifici
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George R. Hess
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Colleen Olfenbuttel
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Christopher S. DePerno
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Correspondence to Charles W. Sanders II.

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Sanders, C.W., Pacifici, K., Hess, G.R. et al. Metal contamination of river otters in North Carolina. Environ Monit Assess 192, 146 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8106-8

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Received: 15 May 2019
Accepted: 21 January 2020
Published: 28 January 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8106-8

Keywords

Heavy metals
Kidney
Liver
Lontra canadensis
North Carolina
River otter