Ecosystem Transformation (), 3-23

Mercury in the body of mammals of the Republic of Karelia (Russia)

Kalinina S.N. , Ilyukha V.A., Zaitseva I.A., Komov V.T.  , Kamshilova T.B., Yakimova A.E., Panchenko D.V., Tirronen K.F.

The study analyzed mercury (Hg) concentrations in mammals with different ecological and trophic specializations living in the Republic of Karelia. The subjects of this study comprised 18 species from the orders Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Eulipotyphla, and Rodentia. The total Hg content in the liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle of the animals was determined by direct pyrolytic decomposition with atomic absorption detection. The identified features of Hg levels in the studied animals were consistent with well-known patterns of metal distribution both between organs in individual species and within the level of consumers in food chains. In the majority of animal species examined, the kidneys were found to contain the highest concentrations of Hg, with the liver exhibiting a lower but still significant level of accumulation. Notwithstanding the subject's lifestyle (terrestrial or semi-aquatic), second-order consumers (carnivorous species) were distinguished by elevated Hg levels in the body in comparison to first-order consumers (species that primarily consume plant-based foods). The concentrations of Hg in the bodies of animals in Karelia did not generally reach lethal levels and did not exceed the established norms for the same or taxonomically closely related species from other regions of Russia and countries around the world. The findings of the study suggest that the level of Hg in the bodies of mammals inhabiting terrestrial and semi-aquatic ecosystems in Karelia is relatively low.

S. N. Kalinina
Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences
Pushkinskaya St. 11, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, 185035 Russia

cvetnick@yandex.ru

V. A. Ilyukha
I.D. Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences
Borok 109, Nekouz District, Yaroslavl Oblast, 152742 Russia


I. A. Zaitseva
Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences
Pushkinskaya St. 11, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, 185035 Russia


V. T. Komov
I.D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, principal research scientist
Borok 109, Nekouz District, Yaroslavl Region, 152742 Russia

Cherepovets State University
Pr. Lunacharskogo 5, Cherepovets, Vologda Region, 162600

Doctor of Science in Biology, Professor
vkomov@ibiw.yaroslavl.ru

T. B. Kamshilova
I.D. Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences
Borok 109, Nekouz District, Yaroslavl Oblast, 152742 Russia


A. E. Yakimova
Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences
Pushkinskaya St. 11, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, 185035 Russia


D. V. Panchenko
Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences
Pushkinskaya St. 11, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, 185035 Russia


K. F. Tirronen
Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences
Pushkinskaya St. 11, Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, 185035 Russia

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