Abstract
We investigated concentrations of blood total mercury (THg) in three extant populations of endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Blood THg was greater in cranes reintroduced during 2001–2008 that range in the eastern US (median = 0.31 ug/g ww) than both wild cranes in central North America (median = 0.11 ug/g ww) and from captivity (median = 0.01 ug/g ww). The median THg blood concentrations in the two free-ranging populations of Whooping Cranes were low compared to reproductive toxic thresholds suggested for other large bird species (> 4.3 ug/g ww), but a singular elevated concentration was observed in one crane (1.04 ug/g ww; 6% of samples from the reintroduced population). These results likely reflect variable dietary Hg exposure among these populations, but should prompt additional biomonitoring to discern risk of greater Hg exposure nearer to the time of breeding and potential effects on productivity.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the institutions and many staff involved with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, Whooping Crane Tracking Partnership, International Crane Foundation, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) for acquiring and providing samples from Whooping Cranes for this study. Noel Stanton directed laboratory services, and Davin Lopez assisted with funding for Hg assays from the WDNR. Additional funding was provided to Paige Smith by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Office of Student Research and Creative Activity. In addition, Sabrina Mueller-Spitz and Robert Stelzer provided valuable input on the research design and early versions of this manuscript.
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Conceptualization and Methodology, BKH, PS, SEW, MEM; Investigation, PS; Writing-Original Draft, PS, MEM; Writing-Review & Editing, BKH, SEW, MEM; Funding Acquisition, PS, MEM; Resources, BKH; Supervision, MEM.
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Hartup, B.K., Smith, P., Warner, S.E. et al. Blood Mercury in Three Populations of Endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 107, 809–813 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03325-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03325-1