Breeding near a landfill may influence blood metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Fe, Zn) and metalloids (Se, As) in white stork (Ciconia ciconia) nestlings

Abstract

Cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, iron, zinc and arsenic levels were measured in blood samples from 59 free-ranging white stork nestlings from colonies located in three different environmental conditions in Western Spain. The reference colony was situated in "Llanos de Cáceres y Sierra de Fuentes", an Area of Special Interest for Bird Protection. A second colony was located close to (4.9 km) an urban landfill and a third one was close to both an intensive agricultural area and an urban landfill (1.5 km). Blood samples were diluted and elemental analysis was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. In all cases, the essential metals zinc and iron were found at the highest mean concentrations followed by lead > selenium > mercury > arsenic > cadmium. Regarding toxic metals, the highest concentrations were found for lead (ranging from 23.27 to 146.4 µg/L) although in all cases the concentrations were lower than those considered to cause subclinical effects. The metals levels detected in the chick's blood were not related to the previously reported levels in the soil next to the colonies, which may indicate that landfills are the main source of metals in white stork nestlings. The present data showed that metal levels in white stork chicks may be influenced by the use of landfills as feeding areas by the parents. However, more studies on the metal content in the feed of white stork and the influence of the distance to the landfill are necessary to establish the causality of these findings.

Determination of nest occupation and breeding effect of the white stork by human-mediated landscape in Western Poland

“…Opposite to Western European population of the white stork which profit from foraging on landfills on the brood level (Tortosa et al 2003), on the population level (Blanco 2006;Djerdali et al 2016b), and also during migration (Massemin-Challet et al 2006;Rotics et al 2017;Arizaga et al 2018), however sometimes suffer (de la Casa-Resino et al 2014, 2015, the consequences of feeding at landfills for Central-Eastern European white stork populations are unknown. Our results show that proximity to a landfill determines the probability of nest occupation, but strictly in connection with a particular year.…”

Comparison of lead contamination among related scavenging birds sharing food sources: a call for caution when using surrogate species

“…This bird probably had an acute exposure due to the ingestion of some component with high levels of lead, such as lead battery residues (Emerging Issues of Environmental and Concern‐UNEP –). The similar blood lead concentrations found between Black Vultures trapped in the rubbish dump, whose principal food source is organic waste, and in the steppe could suggest that other sources of lead such as pollution, which are very common in rubbish dumps (Adelekan & Alawode , De la Casa‐Resino et al ), may be affecting individuals foraging at this site. This is in agreement with several studies on birds foraging or breeding near rubbish dumps, which are also affected by lead contamination (Blanco et al , De la Casa‐Resino et al , Plaza & Lambertucci ).…”

“…The similar blood lead concentrations found between Black Vultures trapped in the rubbish dump, whose principal food source is organic waste, and in the steppe could suggest that other sources of lead such as pollution, which are very common in rubbish dumps (Adelekan & Alawode , De la Casa‐Resino et al ), may be affecting individuals foraging at this site. This is in agreement with several studies on birds foraging or breeding near rubbish dumps, which are also affected by lead contamination (Blanco et al , De la Casa‐Resino et al , Plaza & Lambertucci ). However, it is important to highlight that Black Vultures may show some sporadic movement between sites and could forage in the steppe (close to the dump) and in the dump alternately (Plaza & Lambertucci ), which may complicate the interpretation.…”

Primeros datos sobre movimientos de cigüeñas blancas Ciconia ciconia L., 1758 anilladas como pollos en nido en Navarra: 2012-2015

“…Informar y concienciar a agricultores y ganaderos sobre el riesgo de abandonar cuerdas en los campos ayudaría a reducir el problema. Por otro lado, el uso frecuente que las cigüeñas hacen de los vertederos supone a su vez una fuente potencial de contaminantes (Muñoz-Arnanz et al, 2011;de la Casa-Resino et al, 2014). Por ello, sería interesante estudiar el uso que la población navarra hace de los vertederos durante todo el año (ver Gilbert et al, 2016) y los efectos que ello pudiera tener sobre la salud de la población.…”