Applying ecotoxicology at a rehabilitated mine tailing repository to assess heavy metal transfer and bioaccumulation to a marsupial

Humans have continually exploited mineral resources and this practice has had direct consequential impacts on wildlife. The proportion of operating and abandoned mining sites across Australia that have been identified as major sources of metal pollution with the formation of toxic acid mine waste are on the rise. This paper focuses on applying ecotoxicology at a rehabilitated mine tailing repository to investigate the potential risk of heavy metal bioaccumulation to the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus). This will determine whether the wombats are vulnerable and at risk of heavy metal contamination from bioavailable metals through environmental pathways (see conceptual diagram). The findings will have the potential to form the basis for ecological risk assessments and illustrate the risk of mine contamination to wombats and other marsupials. Applying ecotoxicology theory and approaches at a rehabilitated mining site allows for the creation of a holistic site-specific ecological assessment framework that has the potential to be applied to similar sites. Ultimately reinforcing direction towards greater industrial engagement to conduct ecological assessments for the protection and conservation of vulnerable Australian wildlife. This will develop the evaluation of Australian historical and operational mining sites to reduce the presence of anthropogenic pollution. The output will provide awareness of the consequences linked to anthropogenic metal pollution on marsupials, by contributing to the limited area of ecotoxicological research. Conducting a comprehensive analysis through an ecological risk assessment offers a rare insight into the recolonization of a native Australian marsupial at a disused mine site.