mining canaries / 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. Many observations of animals point to toxicity in food, water or air that would or could harm humans. The classic example is the "canary in the coal mine". The idea of placing a warm-blooded animal in a mine to detect carbon monoxide was first proposed by John Scott Haldane in 1895,[2] and canaries were used as early as 1896.[3][4][5][6] Countries such as Britain, the United States, and Canada used canaries as a sentinel species.[7] Wel

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• jonathan siah