New Jersey Audubon Society, 11 Hardscrabble Road, Bernardsville, NJ 07924, USA.
Environ Res. 2011 Aug;111(6):775-84. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.013. Epub 2011 Jun 15.
The New Jersey Meadowlands are located within the heavily urbanized New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary and have been subject to contamination due to effluent and runoff from industry, traffic, and homes along the Hackensack River and nearby waterways. These extensive wetlands, though heavily impacted by development and pollution, support a wide array of bird and other wildlife species. Persistent contaminants may pose threats to birds in these habitats, affecting reproduction, egg hatchability, nestling survival, and neurobehavioral development. Metals of concern in the Meadowlands include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury. These metals were analyzed in eggs, feathers, muscle, and liver of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) breeding in four wetland sites. We sampled geese collected during control culling (n=26) and collected eggs from goose nests (n=34). Levels of arsenic were below the minimum quantification level (MQL) in most samples, and cadmium and mercury were low in all tissues sampled. Chromium levels were high in feather samples. Mercury levels in eggs of Canada geese, an almost exclusively herbivorous species, were lower (mean ±SE 4.29±0.30μg/g wet weight) than in eggs of omnivorous mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and insectivorous red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris) from the Meadowlands, consistent with trophic level differences. However, lead levels were higher in the goose eggs (161±36.7ng/g) than in the other species. Geese also had higher levels of lead in feathers (1910±386ng/g) than those seen in Meadowlands passerines. By contrast, muscle and liver lead levels were within the range reported in waterfowl elsewhere, possibly a reflection of metal sequestration in eggs and feathers. Elevated lead levels may be the result of sediment ingestion or ingestion of lead shot and sinkers. Finally, lead levels in goose liver (249±44.7ng/g) and eggs (161±36.7ng/g) may pose a risk if consumed frequently by humans. Mill Creek, the site with the most documented prior contamination, had significantly elevated cadmium, chromium, mercury, and lead in goose tissues.
新泽西泽地位于高度城市化的纽约/新泽西港流域，由于哈肯萨克河沿岸和附近水道的工业、交通和住宅的污水和径流，受到了污染。这些广泛的湿地虽然受到了发展和污染的严重影响，但仍支持着各种各样的鸟类和其他野生动物物种。持久性污染物可能对这些栖息地的鸟类构成威胁，影响其繁殖、卵孵化、雏鸟生存和神经行为发育。泽地关注的金属包括砷、镉、铬、铅和汞。这些金属在四个湿地地点繁殖的加拿大鹅（Branta canadensis）的蛋、羽毛、肌肉和肝脏中进行了分析。我们采集了在控制扑杀期间收集的鹅（n=26）和从鹅巢中收集的蛋（n=34）。在大多数样本中，砷的含量低于最低定量水平（MQL），而所有采样组织中的镉和汞含量都很低。羽毛样本中的铬含量很高。泽地加拿大鹅的卵中汞含量（一种几乎完全食草的物种）低于泽地杂食性绿头鸭（Anas platyrhynchos）和食虫性红翅黑鹂（Agelaius phoeniceus）和沼泽鹪鹩（Cistothorus palustris）的卵（平均值±SE 4.29±0.30μg/g 湿重），这与营养水平差异一致。然而，鹅卵中的铅含量（161±36.7ng/g）高于其他物种。鹅的羽毛中的铅含量（1910±386ng/g）也高于泽地雀形目鸟类。相比之下，肌肉和肝脏中的铅含量在其他水禽报道的范围内，这可能反映了金属在卵和羽毛中的蓄积。铅含量升高可能是由于摄入沉积物或摄入铅弹和铅坠所致。最后，鹅肝（249±44.7ng/g）和卵（161±36.7ng/g）中的铅含量如果经常被人类食用，可能会构成风险。Mill Creek 是记录到的先前污染最严重的地点，其鹅组织中的镉、铬、汞和铅含量明显升高。
