Mercury, cadmium, and lead in British otters

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1986 · Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01607848· OSTI ID:6830885

Mason, C F; Last, N I; Macdonald, S M

Otters (subfamily Lutrinae), at the top of the food chain and feeding largely on fish, are likely to be especially vulnerable to the effects of bioaccumulating pollutants, while their aquatic habitat is often a sink for such chemicals derived from agricultural, industrial and domestic sources. The European otter (Lutra lutra) has shown substantial declines through much of its range over the past 30 years, which have been attributed to pollution by organochlorines. There are few published data on metals in tissues of European otters and these refer only to mercury. The present paper reports on burdens of mercury, cadmium and lead in tissues of a sample of British otters collected between 1982 and 1984.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, England
• OSTI ID: 6830885
• Journal Information: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 37:6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CADMIUM
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
LEAD
MERCURY
HAIR
KIDNEYS
LIVER
MAMMALS
MUSCLES
UNITED KINGDOM
WATER POLLUTION
ANIMALS
BODY
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
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METALS
ORGANS
POLLUTION
SKIN
VERTEBRATES
WESTERN EUROPE
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology