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Soil and badger elemental concentrations across
contaminated landscapes
Journal
Science of The Total Environment
Volume 869, 15 April 2023, 161684
Authors
Andrea Sartorius (a), Molly Cahoon (a), Davide Corbetta
(b), Llorenc Grau-Roma (b), Matthew F Johnson (d), Elsa Sandoval Barron
(a), Matthew Smallman-Raynor (d), Benjamin M C Swift (e) , Lisa Yon
(a), Scott Young (f), Malcolm Bennett (a).
a School of Veterinary
Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
b
Farm Pathology and Companion Animal Pathology Departments, School of
Veterinary Medicine and Science, Veterinary Pathology Service, University
of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
c Institute of Animal Pathology,
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty,
University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
d
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
e The
Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield,
Hertfordshire, UK
f School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham,
Sutton Bonington, UK
Abstract
Understanding the links between environmental and
wildlife elemental concentrations is key to help assess ecosystem
functions and the potential effects of legacy pollutants. In this study,
livers from 448 European badgers (Meles meles) collected across the
English Midlands were used to investigate the relationship between
elemental concentrations in
topsoils and wildlife. Mean soil sample concentrations within 2 km of
each badger, determined using data from the British Geological Survey's
‘Geochemical
Baseline Survey of the Environment’, were compared to badger liver
elemental concentrations, focusing primarily on Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, K, Mn,
Pb, Se, Zn. Generally, the badgers appeared to have elemental
concentrations comparable with those published for other related animals,
though Cu concentrations tended to be lower than expected. While there was
no relationship between soil and badger liver concentrations for most
biologically essential elements, biologically non-essential elements,
specifically Pb, Cd, As, and Ag, were positively correlated between soil
and badger livers. Lead and Cd, the elements with the strongest
relationships between soils and badger livers, were primarily elevated in
badgers collected in Derbyshire, a county with a millennia-long history of
Pb mining and significant Pb and Cd soil pollution. Cadmium concentrations
in badgers were also, on average, almost nine times higher than the local
soil concentrations, likely due to Cd
biomagnification in earthworms, a dietary staple of badgers. While
badgers are good models for studying associations between soil and
wildlife elemental concentrations, due to their diet, burrowing
behaviours, and
site fidelity, all flora and fauna local to human-modified
environments could be exposed to and impacted by legacy pollutants.
Keywords
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