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Interspecific variation in the diets of herbivores in an industrial environment: implications for exposure to fluoride emissions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 23, pages 10165–10176 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Atmospheric fluorides (gaseous and particulate) are deposited on, and absorbed by, vegetation. Ingested fluoride accumulates in calcified tissues of vertebrates, and if it is excessive, it may lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis. The prevalence, form and severity of the effects vary greatly between species. Foraging strategy can be an important determinant of fluoride exposure in herbivores, because foliar fluoride concentrations vary between plant species, for example, according to vertical and lateral position in the vegetation. We combined microhistological analysis of diet and analysis of foliar fluoride levels to examine interspecific variation in dietary fluoride exposure of macropodid marsupials (swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor, red-necked wallaby Notamacropus rufogriseus and eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus), in the buffer zone of an aluminium smelter in Victoria, Australia. Dietary niche differentiation between species was evident. The swamp wallaby and the red-necked wallaby were browsers or mixed feeders, depending on the classification system used. The eastern grey kangaroo was a grazer, consuming almost entirely grasses. However, foliar fluoride did not vary significantly between the main plant groups consumed. Our results indicate that interspecific variation in diet at this site is unlikely to explain variation in fluoride exposure.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jodie Gould (Portland Aluminium) for technical assistance and contributions to the manuscript and Ron Jeffries (Portland Aluminium) for practical assistance. We would like to acknowledge assistance from Ian Beveridge, Catharina Vendl, Paul Benham and Ian Freeman (The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences). Portland Aluminium funded and provided logistical support for this research. Comments by two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript.

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  1. School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Naomi E. Davis & Graeme Coulson

  2. Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Clare E. Death & Jasmin Hufschmid

  3. Portland Aluminium, Quarry Rd, Portland, Victoria, Australia

    Lora Newby

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  1. Naomi E. Davis
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  2. Clare E. Death
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  3. Graeme Coulson
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  4. Lora Newby
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  5. Jasmin Hufschmid
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Correspondence to Naomi E. Davis.

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Davis, N.E., Death, C.E., Coulson, G. et al. Interspecific variation in the diets of herbivores in an industrial environment: implications for exposure to fluoride emissions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 10165–10176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6234-z

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Keywords

  • Marsupial
  • Kangaroo
  • Wallaby
  • Industrial pollutant
  • Fluoride
  • Aluminium smelting
  • Diet