Replication Data for "Impact of Hydrocarbon Extraction on Heavy Metal Concentrations in lowland paca (Cuniculus paca) from the Peruvian Amazon"

Oil extraction practices have been developed in the Peruvian Amazonia since the 1920s, causing serious environmental pollution due to frequent oil spills. Local indigenous people have repeatedly reported the adverse effects of oil pollution on their livelihoods and the ecosystems. This study aims to determine the accumulation of heavy metals by wildlife and their incorporation into the food chain. We analyzed the concentration of 14 heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Hg, As, Ni, V, Ba, Se, Be, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Al) in liver samples from 78 hunted pacas (Cuniculus paca) hunted for self-consumption between May 2013 and August 2015 in three areas: a contaminated area in the north of the Peruvian Amazon where oil has been extracted since the 1970s in the Corrientes-Pastaza river interfluvial (n = 38), and in two control areas, the Yavari-Mirín river basin (n = 20) and the of the Pucacuro River (n=20). The database that we include here shows the concentrations of the heavy metals mentioned in the 78 pacas smapled.