Historical contamination of mercury in the Florida panther (Felix concolor cori) and its prey
- Florida Power and Light Company, North Palm Beach, FL (United States)
- KBN Engineering and Applied Sciences, Inc., Gainesville, FL (United States)
- Univ. of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (United States)
- Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL (United States)
- Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
High levels of mercury have been found in the Florida panther, a top carnivore of the Everglades. Similarly high levels have been found in other mammals, birds and fish from the Everglades and other parts of south Florida. The principal route of mercury contamination in the panther is through the aquatic food web. The time period and the source or sources of this contamination are not known. The purpose of this study is to investigate the historical contamination of mercury in the Florida panther and other wildlife species by (1) determining whether mercury contamination has changed over the past century and (2), if change has occurred, to investigate possible correlations between this historical record (i.e., mercury content in hair and feathers) and anthropogenic activities involving mercury in Florida. In addition to the Florida panther, twenty bioindicator species have been identified for tissue sampling and analysis from both aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Specimens from the 1900s to the present day have been collected and analyzed and reflect periods of generally different anthropogenic activities potentially contributing to mercury contamination in south Florida. The mercury content in some museum samples (e.g., late 1940s) is similar to present day high values. The implications of this historical contamination is discussed in light of man`s activities over the past 100 years and current spacial patterns of mercury concentrations in fish tissue.
- OSTI ID:
- 37478
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9519%%402
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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