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Using Fur to Estimate Mercury Concentrations in Mink
Citation:
SERBST, J. R., J. L. LAKE, S. A. RYBA, AND C. F. Brown. Using Fur to Estimate Mercury Concentrations in Mink. Presented at The Wildlife Soceity 16th Annual Conference, Monterey, CA, September 20 - 24, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
This research was conducted to determine the utility of using fur as a nonlethal method of sampling mercury concentrations in mink.
Description:
Total mercury (Hg) concentrations in fur and muscle tissue from mink (Mustela vison) were compared to determine the utility of fur analysis as a non-lethal and convenient method for predicting mercury concentrations in tissues. Sixty nine wild-trapped mink were collected in Rhode Island during the winter of 2005-2006. Mink are considered to be aquatic dependent high-level predators, and as such they are highly vulnerable to the impact of Hg via their diet, which consists of 40 to 60% fish. Two cleaning methods for the preparation of fur for analysis were compared. One used deionized water rinses only and the other used a combination of acetone and deionized water rinses. Mercury concentration in fur samples treated by these two methods were not statistically different (p<0.05), and the water wash procedure was used in this study. The mercury concentration in fur samples (mean = 16900 ng/g) was more than a factor of ten greater than in muscle tissue (mean = 1410 ng/g (wet weight)). The relationship of total mercury concentrations in fur and muscle tissue was significant (p<0.05), but was highly variable (r2 = 0.43). These results suggest that while analysis of fur for total mercury might work as both a rough screening tool and a non-lethal method, it has limited potential for accurately estimating total mercury in muscle tissue.