Sentinel species
Sentinel species are organisms, often animals, used to detect risks to humans by providing advance warning of a danger. The terms primarily apply in the context of environmental hazards rather than those from other sources. Some animals can act as sentinels because they may be more susceptible or have greater exposure to a particular hazard than humans in the same environment.[1] People have long observed animals for signs of impending hazards or evidence of environmental threats. Plants and other living organisms have also been used for these purposes.
Historical examples
Many observations of animals point to toxicity in food, water or air that would or could harm humans.
Canaries
The classic example is the "
Cats
In
Dogs
Dogs were recognized as early as 1939 to be more susceptible to tonsil cancer if they were kept in crowded urban environments.[12] Studies similarly found higher disease rates in animals exposed to tobacco smoke.[12]
Poultry
Yushō disease was discovered when poultry began dying at alarming rates due to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) poisoning, although not before approximately 14,000 people were affected.
Characteristics
Animal sentinels must have measurable responses to the hazard in question, whether that is due to the animal's death, disappearance, or some other determinable aspect.[1]: 34 Many of these species are ideally unendangered and easy to handle. It is important that the species' range overlap with the range being studied.[13] Often the ideal species is determined by the characteristics of the hazard.
For example,
Some species may show effects of a contaminant before humans due to their size, their reproductive rate, or their increased exposure to the contaminant.[13]
Specific applications
Toxic gases
Canaries were iconically used in
Air and water pollution
A number of animals have been used to measure varying kinds of air pollution. These include
Aquatic
Scientists also monitor crayfish in the wild in natural bodies of water to study the levels of pollutants there.[17][18][19]
The Protivin brewery in the Czech Republic uses crayfish outfitted with sensors to detect any changes in their bodies or pulse activity in order to monitor the purity of the water used in their product. The creatures are kept in a fish tank that is fed with the same local natural source water used in their brewing. If three or more of the crayfish have changes to their pulses, employees know there is a change in the water and examine the parameters.[17]
Infectious diseases
The discovery of
Household toxins
Cultural references
- Kurt Vonnegut in an interview compared the function of artists in human society to coal-mine canaries; see Wikiquote.[20]
- "Canary in a Coalmine" is the title of a non-single track on The Police's 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta.[21]
- "Canary in a Coalmine" is the title of a non-single track on The Crane Wives’ 2012 album The Fool in Her Wedding Gown
See also
- Guard dog
- Indicator species
- Stack canary
- Warrant canary
References
- ^ ISBN 0309040469.
- PMID 16992272.
- PMID 16992351.
- OCLC 16986801. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-12.)
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - PMID 20474365. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved 2013-09-05.)
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - ISBN 0671621300.
- ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Eschner, Kat. "The Story of the Real Canary in the Coal Mine". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ISBN 0803120311, p 220.
- ^ Pollard, Lewis (2018-03-27). "The canary resuscitator". Science and Industry Museum blog. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ^ ShareAmerica (2014-11-12). "Idiom in the news: Canary in the coal mine". ShareAmerica. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ Forsaith, Carly (2022-09-22). "'Canary in a Coal Mine': Definition, Meaning, and Examples". Writing Tips. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ ISBN 0721605583, p. 73-4.
- ^ ISBN 1566701414, page 76.
- ^ "Sentinel Species - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- ^ "Molluscan eye". Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
- ^ Eugene Love Fair Jr. (May 28, 2013), "Christmas v. Exxon Mobil", Mississippi Court of Appeals, retrieved January 3, 2014
- ^ a b Hanrahan, Mark (27 September 2017). "Crayfish staff help Czech brewery keep its water as pure as can be". Reuters TV. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "Clean Water". Missouri Conservationist Magazine. Vol. 69, no. 11. Missouri Department of Conservation. November 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- PMID 10581118.
- ^ Interview "Physicist, Purge Thyself" in the Chicago Tribune Magazine (22 June 1969)
- ^ "Christmas Day lost and found: Police's 'Canary in a Coalmine'". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
Further reading
- van der Schalie WH; Gardner HS Jr; Bantle JA; De Rosa CT; Finch RA; Reif JS; Reuter RH; Backer LC; Burger J; Folmar LC; Stokes WS. (Apr 1999). "Animals as sentinels of human health hazards of environmental chemicals". PMID 10090711.
- O'Brien DJ; Kaneene JB; Poppenga RH (Mar 1993). "The use of mammals as sentinels for human exposure to toxic contaminants in the environment". Environ Health Perspect. 99: 351–368. PMID 8319652.
- Backer LC; Grindem CB; Corbett WT; Cullins L; Hunter JL (2001-07-02). "Pet dogs as sentinels for environmental contamination". Sci Total Environ. 274 (1–3): 161–169. PMID 11453293.
- Rabinowitz P; Gordon Z; Chudnov D; Wilcox M; Odofin L; Liu A; Dein J. (Apr 2006). "Animals as sentinels of bioterrorism agents". Emerg Infect Dis. 12 (4): 647–652. PMID 16704814.
- Meselson M; Guillemin J; Hugh-Jones M; Langmuir A; Popova I; Shelokov A; Yampolskaya O (1994-11-18). "The Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak of 1979". PMID 7973702.
- Kahn LH (Apr 2006). "Confronting zoonoses, linking human and veterinary medicine". Emerg Infect Dis. 12 (4): 556–561. PMID 16704801.
External links
- The Canary Database: Animals As Sentinels of Human Environmental Health Hazards
- Online biomonitoring of water quality by a permanent record of bivalve molluscs' behavior and physiology (biological rhythms, growth rate, spawning, early warning), 24/7, worldwide: the MolluSCAN eye project