Raccoons as potential vectors of radionuclide contamination to human food chains from a nuclear industrial site

Article Abstract:

The consumption of contaminated raccoon meat is a possible route of human exposure to radiocesium (137Cs). This research, undertaken on and near the US Dept of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, compared the levels of 137Cs in the liver and muscle of raccoons living in SRS sites known to be contaminated, SRS sites with no history of contamination and habitats beyond the SRS boundaries. Animals living in on-site areas that are directly contaminated by SRS activities were an order of magnitude higher and showed higher levels of variance in 137Cs than those from the combined reference groups.

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Effect of group size on vigilance while drinking in the coati, Nasua narica in Costa Rica

Article Abstract:

The vigilance behavior of coatis (Nasua narica) at a waterhole is investigated. Waterholes are chosen because coatis are required to come to them, and predators know the location. Results show that time devoted to uninterrupted drinking and total time devoted to drinking while at the waterhole increased significantly with group size. Moreover, coatis are at greatest risk when they first arrive because the first drinking bout is the longest, decreasing with successive bouts.

Research, Behavior, Drinking behavior

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Radiocesium in mourning doves: effects of a contaminated reservoir drawdown and risk to human consumers

Article Abstract:

Radiocesium is a radioactive element that can contaminate aquatic ecosystems. Game birds could be important vectors of radiocesium because of their high mobility. A new study of mourning doves observed at a contaminated lake, Par Pond, in South Carolina is designed to assess the potential human health risk associated with their harvesting. The study shows that doves feeding on the lake's exposed sediments had higher levels of radiocesium than birds from adjacent public hunting fields. A human risk analysis suggests that no more than 41 doves a year should be eaten by individuals before the EPA threshold is breached.

Mourning dove, Contamination, Game and game-birds, Game animals, Game birds, Radioactive pollution of water, Radioactive water pollution

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