European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) populations under arsenic and metal stress: evaluation of exposure at a mining site

Lopes, Isabel; Sedlmayr, Ambra; Moreira‐Santos, Matilde; Moreno-Garrido, Ignácio; Blasco, Julián; Ribeiro, Rui

doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0741-4

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…These include that a large number of samples can be obtained, samples can be collected from species that are difficult to trap or that are rarely found as carcasses, and pellets can be collected regardless of the age or gender of the bird or of season. Pellets have been used to measure exposure of raptors to toxic metals (Bostan et al 2007 ; Lopes et al 2010 ) including Pb from shot, the presence of which can be confirmed by X-rays (Mateo et al 2001 ; Pain et al 2007 ). Chemical analysis has also been used to assess exposure of owls to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (Gray et al 1994 ; Newton et al 1994 ; Eadsforth et al 1996 ) and regurgitated barn owls ( Tyto alba ) pellets were estimated to contain 25–29 % of ingested dose (Gray et al 1992 , 1994 ; Newton et al 1994 ).…”

Section: The Relative Merits Of Different Sample Matrices For Contamimentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors—what types of samples should we use?

et al. 2016

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Biomonitoring using birds of prey as sentinel species has been mooted as a way to evaluate the success of European Union directives that are designed to protect people and the environment across Europe from industrial contaminants and pesticides. No such pan-European evaluation currently exists. Coordination of such large scale monitoring would require harmonisation across multiple countries of the types of samples collected and analysed-matrices vary in the ease with which they can be collected and the information they provide. We report the first ever pan-European assessment of which raptor samples are collected across Europe and review their suitability for biomonitoring. Currently, some 182 monitoring programmes across 33 European countries collect a variety of raptor samples, and we discuss the relative merits of each for monitoring current priority and emerging compounds. Of the matrices collected, blood and liver are used most extensively for quantifying trends in recent and longer-term contaminant exposure, respectively. These matrices are potentially the most effective for pan-European biomonitoring but are not so widely and frequently collected as others. We found that failed eggs and feathers are the most widely collected samples. Because of this ubiquity, they may provide the best opportunities for widescale biomonitoring, although neither is suitable for all compounds. We advocate piloting pan-European monitoring of selected priority compounds using these matrices and developing read-across approaches to accommodate any effects that trophic pathway and species differences in accumulation may have on our ability to track environmental trends in contaminants.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10646-016-1636-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: The Relative Merits Of Different Sample Matrices For Contamimentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors—what types of samples should we use?

et al. 2016

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“…Work on wasps reached similar conclusions (Kowalczyk and Watala 1989; Urbini et al 2006; Polidori et al 2018; Skaldina et al 2020). Trophic transfer of metals from soil to plants to insects (Boyd et al 2006; Butler and Trumble 2008; Ali and Khan 2019; Tőzser et al 2019), from insects as prey to arthropods that are predators, and on to higher trophic levels including birds (Figure 5) and humans has been demonstrated (Zhang et al 2009; Lopes et al 2010; van Huis 2013; Gall et al 2015; Byholm et al 2018; Kwon et al 2019). In many of these publications, the complexities of uptake, accumulation, and transfer are part of the narrative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Impacts on these terrestrial insects are also likely to have effects on ecosystems (Richter 2000). Wasps are also medicine and food for humans and animals (Heo 1613; Lopes et al 2010; Van Huis 2013; Byholm et al 2018; Kwon et al 2019) and may affect them through exposure via intake. In the present study, we investigated the concentrations of metals in paper wasps (family Vespidae, subfamily Polistinae) from 4 sites in Zimbabwe, 2 of which are presumed polluted (one near a platinum mine, one near a known polluted lake), another from urban Harare, and one from a nature reserve as reference (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Wasp as a Terrestrial Indicator of Environmental Metal Composition: Evidence from Zimbabwe

Nadat

Kylin

Sithole

et al. 2021

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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We explored metal concentrations in wasps from 4 sites near Harare, Zimbabwe, on a 106 km west-east transect. We found elevated concentrations at 2 presumed-polluted sites (a platinum [Pt] mine and a known polluted lake) located near a metal-enriched geological feature (the Great Dyke). A site in urban Harare and a nature reserve served as reference. Only wasps from the 2 presumed-polluted sites had quantifiable Pt. For Cr, Ni, Mg, Se, Fe, Mn, and V, we report the highest concentrations in wasps yet published. Wasps from the presumed-polluted sites had significantly higher concentrations of most metals when compared with wasps from the reference sites, suggesting pollution as a source. Geology, however, differs between the sites. It is probable, therefore, that both geology and pollution contributed to the differences in metal concentrations. Because of its long and narrow dimensions (550 km long and 4-11 km wide), the Great Dyke offers opportunities for comparative studies. Because wasps form a complex part of the food web and ecology, studies on the transfer of metals to wasps' predators are needed, especially given that some birds specialize in feeding on hymenopterans. The rich diversity of wasps (>145 000 species worldwide) occupying multiple different trophic levels is a good indicator, and wasps have a rich potential to join other invertebrates as terrestrial indicators.

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“…The usage of the contact insecticid can be particularly dangerous. Some bee-eater populations bred at a metal mining site were endangered by arsenic and metal stress (aluminium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, iron) according to feather and regurgitated pellet analyses (Lopes et al 2010).…”

Section: Threatening Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) in Hungary: a review

Gyurácz

Nagy²,

Fuisz

et al. 2013

Ornis Hungarica

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The European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) is known as ‛beekeeper bird' and an effective ecosystem engineer species. The fact that in 2013 it became ‛The Bird of the Year' in Hungary offers the possibility to summarise the information about the distribution, population size, breeding and feeding ecology, dispersion, migration, intra-and interspecific relationships as well as the nature conservation status of the bee-eater population breeding in Hungary. Though this review focuses on the Hungarian population trends, but also summarises the major research results from other countries. In the period of 1992-2013, the number of breeding pairs were surveyed in 5897 2.5×2.5 km UTM squares in the frame of the Monitoring of Rare and Colonial Breeding Birds programme. In the surveyed area during the period of 1992-2013, the most accurate estimate suggests a 10600-19600 breeding pair population. The larger nesting colonies were observed in the following regions: Zala Hills, Outer Somogy, Gerecse, Velencei Hills, Mezőföld, Gödöllő Hills, Tápió, Bükkalja, Taktaköz, Körös region. The annual population indices showed marked fluctuation with stable long term population trend in Hungary. The national monitoring and protection project of the European Bee-eater revealed the most important factors endangering the nesting populations, these are weed invasion and the collapse of vertical banks, mining carried out in the nesting period and direct human-caused disturbance (e.g. shooting, tourism). Keywords: Merops apiaster, Hungary, breeding population, migration, conservationÖsszefoglalás A gyurgyalag (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) "méhész madárként" és hatékony ökoszisztéma mérnök fajként is ismert. 2013-ban "Az év madarának" választották Magyarországon, ezen alkalomból jelen írás összefoglalja a gyurgyalag földrajzi elterjedésére, állománynagyságára, fészkelésére, táplálkozására, szétter-jedésére, vonulására, intra-és interspecifikus kapcsolataira, valamint természetvédelmi helyzetére vonatkozó lé-nyeges ismereteket, kitekintve más országok fontosabb kutatási eredményeire is. 1992 és 2013 között, az MME "Ritka és Telepesen fészkelő Madarak Monitroingja, RTM" program keretében 5897 darab, 2,5×2,5 kilométeres UTM négyzetben mértük fel a költőpárok számát. Felméréseink alapján készült eddigi legpontosabb becslés szerint a gyurgyalag hazai fészkelő állománya évente 10 600-19 600 pár volt 1992 és 2013 között. A legnagyobb költőtelepeket a következő régiókban figyeltük meg: Zalai-dombság, Külső-Somogy, Gerecse, Velencei-hegység, Mezőföld, Gödöllői-dombság, Tápióvidék, Bükkalja, Taktaköz, Körös vidéke. A trendanalízis eredménye alapján a hazai költőállomány a vizsgált időszakban stabil volt. Az országos monitoring és védelmi program ál-tal feltárt leggyakoribb fészkelést veszélyeztető tényezők a következők voltak: a partfalak benövényesedése, a függőleges partfalak ledőlése, fészkelési időszakban végzett bányászat, valamint a közvetlen emberi zavarás (pl. vadászat, turizmus).

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European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) populations under arsenic and metal stress: evaluation of exposure at a mining site

Cited by 15 publications

References 39 publications

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors—what types of samples should we use?

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors—what types of samples should we use?

The Wasp as a Terrestrial Indicator of Environmental Metal Composition: Evidence from Zimbabwe

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) in Hungary: a review

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