title: Interspecific variation in the diets of herbivores in an industrial environment: implications for exposure to fluoride emissions.
abstract: Atmospheric fluorides (gaseous and particulate) are deposited on, and absorbed by, vegetation. Ingested fluoride accumulates in calcified tissues of vertebrates, and if it is excessive, it may lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis. The prevalence, form and severity of the effects vary greatly between species. Foraging strategy can be an important determinant of fluoride exposure in herbivores, because foliar fluoride concentrations vary between plant species, for example, according to vertical and lateral position in the vegetation. We combined microhistological analysis of diet and analysis of foliar fluoride levels to examine interspecific variation in dietary fluoride exposure of macropodid marsupials (swamp wallaby Wallabia bicolor, red-necked wallaby Notamacropus rufogriseus and eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus), in the buffer zone of an aluminium smelter in Victoria, Australia. Dietary niche differentiation between species was evident. The swamp wallaby and the red-necked wallaby were browsers or mixed feeders, depending on the classification system used. The eastern grey kangaroo was a grazer, consuming almost entirely grasses. However, foliar fluoride did not vary significantly between the main plant groups consumed. Our results indicate that interspecific variation in diet at this site is unlikely to explain variation in fluoride exposure.
authors.affiliation: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ndavis@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Naomi E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5551-8822
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Clare E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Death
authors.affiliation: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coulson
authors.affiliation: Portland Aluminium, Quarry Rd, Portland, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Lora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Newby
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hufschmid
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005459:Fluorides / Q000032:analysis*; D060434:Herbivory; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007614:Macropodidae; D014739:Victoria
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D000535:Aluminum; D005459:Fluorides
keywords: Aluminium smelting; Diet; Fluoride; Industrial pollutant; Kangaroo; Marsupial; Wallaby