Factors Affecting Element Concentrations in Eggshells of Three Sympatrically Nesting Waterbirds in Northern Poland

Abstract

Avian eggshells are convenient samples in biomonitoring studies, because they are easily accessible, especially from colonially or semicolonially breeding birds. In the present study, concentrations of 17 elements, including heavy metals and essential elements in post-hatch eggshells, were compared among three species of waterbirds of differing strategies for gaining reserves for egg production and diet: mallard, Anas platyrhynchos (ML, a capital breeder, mainly herbivorous), common tern, Sterna hirundo (CT, an income breeder, piscivorous) and black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus (BHG, mixed strategy, omnivorous) and breeding sympatrically in three sites in North Poland. Analyses revealed that Fe, Zn, and Cu levels differed the most in the studied species, which may be explained by various contributions of fish, aquatic plants, and soil invertebrates in their diets. Generally, the studied species’ eggshells accumulated amounts of elements comparable to those reported for other waterbirds without putting the growth and development of the embryo at risk. The only exception was very high levels of Cr in ML and CT, which may be explained by their foraging on aquatic organisms in waterbodies polluted by this element. Intersite differences in eggshell concentrations of Ni, Sr, Hg and Cr in CT (an income breeder) may be explained by the influence of local pollution sources (small factories, polluted river).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00244-017-0481-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Estudo quantitativo temporal sobre a contaminação de aves aquáticas por metais

“…Nas pesquisas realizadas por Einoder, et al, (2018) onde analisaram a presença de arsênio, cobre, mercúrio, zinco e chumbo em aves aquáticas e Kitowski, et al, (2018) analisando a presença de ferro, zinco, cobre, cromo estrôncio e mercúrio também em aves de sistemas límnicos evidenciam resultados positivos na detecção de metais empenas de aves aquáticas, indicando que a utilização da plumagem é um bom mecanismos para avaliar a contaminação ambiental e pode refletir os efeitos nocivos sobre o ambiente. Luo, et al, (2015) analisando a presença de cobre, zinco, chumbo e cromo; Buck, et al, (2016) analisando mercúrio;Medunic, et al, (2018) analisando arsênio, cadmio, cobre, cromo, mercúrio, chumbo, estrôncio, zinco e vanádio, detectaram em penas de aves aquáticas, que alguns metais podem causar a morte e envenenamento de muitos animais, e podem se acumular de acordo ao nível trófico onde se encontram.…”

Inter-species and inter-colony differences in elemental concentrations in eggshells of sympatrically nesting great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo and grey herons Ardea cinerea

“…As an organism can absorb elements in many different ways (food, water, atmosphere), it is practically impossible to identify the sources of particular elements in it. However, a high degree of clustering or the correlation of particular elements in multivariate analyses like HACA or PCA may help to identify possible common sources of elements (Hashmi et al 2013 ; Kitowski et al 2018 ).…”

“…Nevertheless, this study provides recent data on elemental concentrations in the eggshells of two top predators in aquatic ecosystems, regarded as important ‘indicator species’ in environmental monitoring. As non-essential metals are sequestered into the eggshell for excretion, the post-hatched eggshells, easy to collect in breeding colonies of waterbirds may provide a convenient, non-invasive tool for monitoring heavy metals contaminations in this group of birds (Lam et al 2005 ; Ayas 2007 ; Kitowski et al 2018 ). In order to gain a broader picture of contamination levels in these two species, future studies should also examine egg contents, and the tissues of chick and adult birds.…”

Trace element levels in the muscles of three tern species (Aves: Laridae) from the western Arabian Gulf: environmental assessment and implications for conservation

“…Among seabirds, terns have been the subject of different environmental studies showing that Laridae are excellent bioindicators of TEs pollution (Khademi et al, 2015 ; Kitowski et al, 2018 ; Korbecki et al, 2019 ; Michelutti et al, 2010 ; Zamani-Ahmadmahmoodi et al, 2014 ). However, these latter studies did not take into consideration all types of TEs nor all tern species.…”