CESAM and Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
Environ Monit Assess. 2010 Feb;161(1-4):237-45. doi: 10.1007/s10661-008-0741-4. Epub 2009 Jan 30.
Two populations of the European bee-eater were studied, one living at a reference site and the other at a metal mining site. The concentration of arsenic and 11 metals (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was measured in feathers and regurgitated pellets collected at both sites. Cadmium, chromium, mercury, nickel, and lead were at least twofold higher in feathers of birds from the contaminated site than in the reference site, suggesting that this population was exposed to higher metal levels. Similarly, levels of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, iron, and lead were also at least twofold higher in pellets from the contaminated area. The obtained results suggested that the impacted population of Merops apiaster is at risk due to the exposure to some metals.
对生活在参照点和金属矿区的两个欧洲食蜂鸟种群进行了研究。在这两个地点收集了羽毛和反刍丸，并测量了其中的砷和 11 种金属（铝、镉、钴、铬、铜、铁、汞、锰、镍、铅和锌）的浓度。矿区鸟类的羽毛中镉、铬、汞、镍和铅的含量至少是参照点鸟类的两倍，这表明这一人群接触到了更高水平的金属。同样，来自污染地区的反刍丸中铝、砷、镉、钴、铬、铁和铅的含量也至少高出两倍。研究结果表明，由于接触到一些金属，受影响的欧洲食蜂鸟种群面临风险。
