Center, Internet, Wildlife Damage Management
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Bioaccumulation of Mercury in Wilson’s Snipe from Alabama
Date of this Version
Fall 2015
Document Type
Article
Citation
Human–Wildlife Interactions (Fall 2015) 9(2): article 16
doi: 10.26077/4zaz-r635
Special topic: Connections between IPM and WDM
Abstract
Mercury is a persistent, toxic heavy metal that can bioaccumulate in organisms, causing diseases and other health problems. Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates, which makes them prone to mercury bioaccumulation. In this study, we measured total mercury in Wilson’s snipe. Total mercury was measured in the feathers and muscle tissue. Mean concentration (ppm ± SE) of mercury was 1.33 (± 0.22) and 0.087 (± 0.03) in the feathers and muscle tissue, respectively. Mercury concentration was significantly higher in feathers than muscle. Our data indicate that Wilson’s snipe, an aquatic-invertebrate predator that bioaccumulates mercury from their environment may be a useful biological indicator for mercury.