title: Hair and bone as predictors of tissular mercury concentration in the western Alaska red fox, Vulpes vulpes.
abstract: We evaluated if total mercury (THg) concentrations of keratin-based and bone-based tissues can predict THg concentrations in skeletal muscle, renal medulla, renal cortex, and liver. The THg concentration in matched tissues of 65 red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, from western Alaska was determined. Hair THg concentration had a significant positive correlation with liver, renal medulla, renal cortex, and muscle. The THg concentration for males and females is moderately predictive of THg concentration in the renal cortex and liver for these foxes based on R(2) values (R(2)=0.61 and 0.63, respectively). Bone is weakly predictive of THg concentration in muscle (R(2)=0.40), but not a reliable tissue to predict THg concentration in liver (R(2)=0.24), renal cortex (R(2)=0.35), or renal medulla (R(2)=0.25). These results confirm the potential use of trapped animals, specifically foxes, as useful Arctic sentinel species to inform researchers about patterns in THg levels over time as industrialization of the Arctic continues.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States. Electronic address: bhdainowski@alaska.edu.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Dainowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States. Electronic address: lkduffy@alaska.edu.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States. Electronic address: jpmcintyre@alaska.edu.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.affiliation: Alaksa Department of Fish and Game, Bethel, AK 99559, United States.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005589:Foxes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006197:Hair / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Arctic; Bone; Hair; Kidney; Mercury; Sentinel species