title: Methylmercury Exposure Reduces the Auditory Brainstem Response of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata ).
abstract: Mercury contamination from mining and fossil fuel combustion causes damage to humans and animals worldwide. Mercury exposure has been implicated in mammalian hearing impairment, but its effect on avian hearing is unknown. In this study, we examined whether lifetime dietary mercury exposure affected hearing in domestic zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) by studying their auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). Zebra finches exposed to mercury exhibited elevated hearing thresholds, decreased amplitudes, and longer latencies in the ABR, the first evidence of mercury-induced hearing impairment in birds. Birds are a more appropriate model for the human auditory spectrum than most mammals because of similarities in frequency discrimination, vocal learning, and communication behavior. When mercury is considered in combination with other anthropogenic stressors such as noise pollution and habitat alteration, the hearing impairments we document here could substantially degrade avian auditory communication in wild birds.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Swaddle
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cristol
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, USA. wjbuchser@wm.edu.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Buchser
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D046369:Finches; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; C030589:methylmercury cysteine; D003545:Cysteine
keywords: ABR; amplitude; ecotoxicology; hearing; hearing impairment; latency; threshold shift; toxicology