Mercury contamination of fish and its implications for other wildlife of the Tapajós basin, Brazilian Amazon. Uryu, Y., Malm, O., Thornton, I., Payne, I., & Cleary, D. Conservation Biology, 15(2):438-446, 2001. abstract bibtex Abstract: Since 1979 the gold rush in the Brazilian Amazon has caused serious environmental damage to one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth. Mainly due to the toxicity of mercury to humans, this problem has received wide public attention and prompted many studies. Although these studies have involved sampling of fish, the negative effect of mercury contamination to fish themselves and other wildlife has been largely ignored. To assess the present level of mercury contamination of fish, and its implication for fish and other animals, we collected and examined data on mercury concentration in fish of the Brazilian Amazon, especially for the Tapajos basin, between 1991 and 1996. We conclude that omnivores and piscivores that live nearer to gold mining areas in the Tapajos basin are already at high risk of mercury toxification, especially reproductive failure. Mercury concentrations in these fish are also high enough to have detrimental effects on animals at higher trophic levels. The same conclusion applies to other mercury-contaminated areas in the Brazilian Amazon. Because most Amazonian rivers or their tributaries have favorable conditions for mercury contamination, we can expect the problem to persist in the Amazon for a long time, and the consequences are likely to become more significant in the future. These conclusions have important implications for all tropical rainforests where gold mining operations have caused extensive mercury pollution. Contaminacion de Peces por Mercurio y sus Implicaciones para Otras Especies de Vida Silvestre de la Cuenca Tapajos, del Amazonas Brasileno Resumen: Desde 1979, la extraccion del oro en el Amazonas brasileno ha ocasionado un dano ambiental serio a uno de los ecosistemas mas complejos del mundo. Principalmente debido a la toxicidad del mercurio para los humanos, este problema ha recibido una atencion publica amplia y ha impulsado muchos estudios. A pesar de que estos estudios han involucrado el muestreo de peces, el efecto negativo de la contaminacion por mercurio en los mismos peces y otras especies de vida silvestre ha sido ignorado. Para evaluar los niveles actuales de contaminacion por mercurio en peces y sus implicaciones en otros animales, colectamos y examinamos datos sobre la concentracion de mercurio en peces del Amazonas brasileno, especialmente en la cuenca Tapajos, entre 1991 y 1996. Concluimos que los omnivoros y piscivoros que viven mas cerca de las areas de minas de oro en la cuenca Tapajos ya se encuentran en un alto riesgo de intoxicacion por mercurio, especialmente en riesgo de falla reproductiva. Las concentraciones de mercurio en estos peces son lo suficientemente altas como para causar un efecto danino en animales de niveles troficos mas altos. Las mismas conclusiones son validas para otras areas del Amazonas brasileno contaminadas con mercurio. Debido a que la mayoria de los rios del Amazonas o sus tributarios tienen condiciones favorables para la contaminacion por mercurio, podemos esperar que el problema persista en el Amazonas por un periodo de tiempo largo y es probable que las consecuencias sean aun mas significativas en el futuro. Estas conclusiones tienen implicaciones importantes para todos los bosques tropicales lluviosos donde las operaciones de extraccion de oro han causado una contaminacion extensiva de mercurio.
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title = {Mercury contamination of fish and its implications for other wildlife of the Tapajós basin, Brazilian Amazon},
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abstract = {Abstract: Since 1979 the gold rush in the Brazilian Amazon has caused serious environmental damage to one of the most complex ecosystems on Earth. Mainly due to the toxicity of mercury to humans, this problem has received wide public attention and prompted many studies. Although these studies have involved sampling of fish, the negative effect of mercury contamination to fish themselves and other wildlife has been largely ignored. To assess the present level of mercury contamination of fish, and its implication for fish and other animals, we collected and examined data on mercury concentration in fish of the Brazilian Amazon, especially for the Tapajos basin, between 1991 and 1996. We conclude that omnivores and piscivores that live nearer to gold mining areas in the Tapajos basin are already at high risk of mercury toxification, especially reproductive failure. Mercury concentrations in these fish are also high enough to have detrimental effects on animals at higher trophic levels. The same conclusion applies to other mercury-contaminated areas in the Brazilian Amazon. Because most Amazonian rivers or their tributaries have favorable conditions for mercury contamination, we can expect the problem to persist in the Amazon for a long time, and the consequences are likely to become more significant in the future. These conclusions have important implications for all tropical rainforests where gold mining operations have caused extensive mercury pollution. Contaminacion de Peces por Mercurio y sus Implicaciones para Otras Especies de Vida Silvestre de la Cuenca Tapajos, del Amazonas Brasileno Resumen: Desde 1979, la extraccion del oro en el Amazonas brasileno ha ocasionado un dano ambiental serio a uno de los ecosistemas mas complejos del mundo. Principalmente debido a la toxicidad del mercurio para los humanos, este problema ha recibido una atencion publica amplia y ha impulsado muchos estudios. A pesar de que estos estudios han involucrado el muestreo de peces, el efecto negativo de la contaminacion por mercurio en los mismos peces y otras especies de vida silvestre ha sido ignorado. Para evaluar los niveles actuales de contaminacion por mercurio en peces y sus implicaciones en otros animales, colectamos y examinamos datos sobre la concentracion de mercurio en peces del Amazonas brasileno, especialmente en la cuenca Tapajos, entre 1991 y 1996. Concluimos que los omnivoros y piscivoros que viven mas cerca de las areas de minas de oro en la cuenca Tapajos ya se encuentran en un alto riesgo de intoxicacion por mercurio, especialmente en riesgo de falla reproductiva. Las concentraciones de mercurio en estos peces son lo suficientemente altas como para causar un efecto danino en animales de niveles troficos mas altos. Las mismas conclusiones son validas para otras areas del Amazonas brasileno contaminadas con mercurio. Debido a que la mayoria de los rios del Amazonas o sus tributarios tienen condiciones favorables para la contaminacion por mercurio, podemos esperar que el problema persista en el Amazonas por un periodo de tiempo largo y es probable que las consecuencias sean aun mas significativas en el futuro. Estas conclusiones tienen implicaciones importantes para todos los bosques tropicales lluviosos donde las operaciones de extraccion de oro han causado una contaminacion extensiva de mercurio.},
bibtype = {article},
author = {Uryu, Yumiko and Malm, Olaf and Thornton, Iain and Payne, Ian and Cleary, David},
journal = {Conservation Biology},
number = {2},
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Mainly due to the toxicity of mercury to humans, this problem has received wide public attention and prompted many studies. Although these studies have involved sampling of fish, the negative effect of mercury contamination to fish themselves and other wildlife has been largely ignored. To assess the present level of mercury contamination of fish, and its implication for fish and other animals, we collected and examined data on mercury concentration in fish of the Brazilian Amazon, especially for the Tapajos basin, between 1991 and 1996. We conclude that omnivores and piscivores that live nearer to gold mining areas in the Tapajos basin are already at high risk of mercury toxification, especially reproductive failure. Mercury concentrations in these fish are also high enough to have detrimental effects on animals at higher trophic levels. The same conclusion applies to other mercury-contaminated areas in the Brazilian Amazon. Because most Amazonian rivers or their tributaries have favorable conditions for mercury contamination, we can expect the problem to persist in the Amazon for a long time, and the consequences are likely to become more significant in the future. These conclusions have important implications for all tropical rainforests where gold mining operations have caused extensive mercury pollution. Contaminacion de Peces por Mercurio y sus Implicaciones para Otras Especies de Vida Silvestre de la Cuenca Tapajos, del Amazonas Brasileno Resumen: Desde 1979, la extraccion del oro en el Amazonas brasileno ha ocasionado un dano ambiental serio a uno de los ecosistemas mas complejos del mundo. Principalmente debido a la toxicidad del mercurio para los humanos, este problema ha recibido una atencion publica amplia y ha impulsado muchos estudios. 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Debido a que la mayoria de los rios del Amazonas o sus tributarios tienen condiciones favorables para la contaminacion por mercurio, podemos esperar que el problema persista en el Amazonas por un periodo de tiempo largo y es probable que las consecuencias sean aun mas significativas en el futuro. 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