A preliminary study was undertaken to determine post-mining baseline accumulation of selected trace metals, and histopathological alterations in free-living arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) inhabiting the vicinity of a former lead-zinc mine located on North Baffin Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Trace metal analysis included measurement of As, Cd, Fe, Pb and Zn in tissues, and histopathological assessment comprised of evaluation and scoring the severity of metal-induced hepatic and renal lesions. Metal contents in hepatic and renal tissues from hares from the mine area compared with the reference locations did not differ significantly suggesting that the animals are not uniformly exposed to background levels of metals in the environment. However, relatively higher accumulation pattern of Pb and Cd were noted in liver tissues of hare from the mine area compared to the background area, but did not induce increased lesions. Surface soils near the mine area contained relatively higher levels of trace metals (Zn>Mn>Pb>Cd>As) compared to reference soils, and with soil levels of Cd showing strong correlation with Cd accumulation in kidney tissues. Generally, both case and reference animals showed similar but varying severities of hepatic and renal lesions at the sublethal level, notably vascular congestion, occasional large hepatocyte nuclei, binucleate hepatocytes, yellow-brown pigmentation in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and clustering of lymphocytes. Only hares with relatively higher accumulation of Pb from the mine area showed evidence of renal edema and hemorrhage of the capsular surface. This study constitutes the first assessment of metal induced histopathological alterations in arctic hares exposed to a historical mining area in the high arctic.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	heavy metals, histopathology, mining, arctic hares, Canadian arctic
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Zoology
Research Field:	Comparative physiology
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Objective Field:	Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
UTAS Author:	Amuno, M (Mr Mazino Amuno)
ID Code:	117764
Year Published:	2016
Web of Science® Times Cited:	20
Deposited By:	Engineering
Deposited On:	2017-06-27
Last Modified:	2018-03-17
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