The concentrations of selected metals such as Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Mn, and Fe were determined in liver, kidney, and muscle of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) from three geographical regions, i.e., the Baltic Sea and Danish and Greenland coastal waters. The concentrations of Cd in liver and kidney increased with age of the specimens analyzed. Significant interspatial variations in both hepatic and renal levels of Cd were also observed. Average hepatic levels of Cd in Baltic, Danish, and Greenland specimens were (age range) 0.05-0.09, 0.12-0.25, and 20.6-51.6 microg g(-1) dry weight, respectively. Such values for renal Cd were as follows: 0.55-0.71, 0.14-1.84, and 0.55-94.3 microg g(-1) dry weight. In contrast to Cd, concentrations of Cu in the liver and kidney of specimens from Baltic, Danish, and Greenland areas did not indicate such great interspatial variability. The average hepatic values amounted to (age range) 14.1-15.5, 22.1-63.6, and 16.3-25.9 microg g(-1) dry weight, and kidney contained on the average 7.83-8.80, 11.7-16.2, and 11.1-15.7 microg Cu g(-1) dry weight, respectively. The higher levels of hepatic and renal Cd in Greenland specimens than in Baltic ones could be explained by different food composition in the area studied. Baltic porpoises mainly feed on fish (cod, plaice) containing extremely low levels of muscle Cd, but an important diet component of Greenlandic individuals is squid, characterized by elevated levels of Cd.

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Heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) concentrations were determined in different tissues (muscle, kidney, liver, brain, gonads, heart and feathers) of Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Bjørnøya and Jan Mayen. The age and spatial dependent variations in heavy metals were quantified and interpreted in view of the three chemometric techniques, i.e. non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, redundancy gradient analysis and detrended correspondence analysis. The Glaucous Gulls from Bjørnøya contained significantly higher (p < 0.05) levels of Cd, Cu and Zn than those inhabited Jan Mayen. Adult birds were characterized by greater (p < 0.01) concentration of muscle, hepatic and renal heavy metals in comparison to chicks. Insignificantly higher slope constant Zn/Cd for the liver than for the kidney may reflect insignificant Cd exposure. Estimate of transfer factor (TF) allows us to assess variations in heavy metal concentrations during the individual development of Glaucous Gulls. It may be stated that there is a distinct increase of bioaccumulation of all the studied metals during subsequent stages of the bird life.

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