Heavy metals in muscle tissue of healthy crocodiles from the Kruger National Park, South Africa
Abstract
Mass mortality of Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
occurred in the Olifants River of the Kruger National Park
(KNP) in 2008 from pansteatitis, a condition in which
body fat becomes yellow and inflamed. Much research has
been carried out, but the cause(s) of the outbreak in the
KNP remains unknown (Ashton, 2010; Ferreira & Pienaar,
2011; Woodborne et al., 2012; Bouwman et al.,
2014). Anthropogenic factors such as heavy metal pollution
have been suggested as a potential cause (e.g.
Bouwman et al., 2014). We found only three studies from
Africa on heavy metals in wild crocodiles (Table 1). The
aim of this study was to assess the concentrations of heavy
metals and metalloids in wild and apparently healthy
crocodiles in the KNP
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/21751http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aje.12308
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.12308/full