Geologic setting of mineral licks and availability of trace element nutrients: case study of the Dewar Creek geothermal spring site in the Canadian Cordillera

The link between the geology and development of mineral licks involves the mineralogy and availability of metallic elements that are necessary for mammalian nutritional requirements. The chemistries of natural mineral licks have been widely documented, but their constituent elements necessary for mammalian nutrition have usually not been linked to regional tectono-stratigraphic controls on their mineralogy and element availability. The extensive mineral lick emplaced along the Dewar Creek geothermal spring area in southeast British Columbia of the Canadian Cordillera has a dominant carbonate mineralogy that has been a longstanding attraction to ungulates. This case study provides insight into how the geologic context directly controls the availability of various trace metal nutrient ions and thereby attracts mammalian wildlife. Sediments collected along the Dewar Creek geothermal spring are analyzed for their mineralogy and trace element concentration to further our understanding as to why the site is attractive to ungulates as a mineral lick. The geologic framework provides the overall context for the location of mineral licks that result in the availability of metallic elements necessary for the nutritional requirements of mammals, and furthers our understanding on how the geologic framework controls the location of mineral licks that provide specific elements necessary for the health of ungulates. High concentrations of Sr (3000–12,000 ppm) and Mn (4000–9000 ppm) are incorporated into different carbonate minerals that accumulated as bottom sediment and overlying crust along the geothermal spring. The unusually high concentration of bioactive strontium in particular at this mineral lick facilitates the attractiveness to ungulates because of the impact on mammalian bone osteoporosis.