Szumiło-Pilarska Emilia, Falkowska Lucyna, Grajewska Agnieszka, Meissner Włodzimierz
Department of Marine Chemistry and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Al. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-387 Gdynia, Poland.
Avian Ecophysiology Unit, Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, ul. Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
Water Air Soil Pollut. 2017;228(4):138. doi: 10.1007/s11270-017-3308-6. Epub 2017 Mar 11.
Gulls were assessed as sentinels of contamination in the coastal zone of the Southern Baltic, research material being obtained from dead birds collected on Polish beaches and near fishing ports in 2009-2012. In feathers and blood of four gull species: herring gull (), common gull (), black-headed gull (s), and great black-backed gull (), concentration of total mercury (Hg) was assayed, taking into account the type of feathers, sex, and age. Stable isotopes (δN, δC) were used as tracers of trophic position in the food web. In the study, feathers and blood were compared as non-invasive indicators of alimentary exposure introducing mercury into the system. In order to do that, the correlations between mercury concentrations in the blood, feathers, and the birds' internal tissues were examined. The strongest relations were observed in the liver for each species = 0.94, = 0.001; = 0.89, = 0.001; = 0.53, = 0.001; = 0.78, = 0.001. While no correlation was found with feathers, only developing feathers of juvenile herring gulls were found to be a good indicator immediate of exposure through food ( = 0.71, = 0.001; = 0.73, = 0.001; = 0.89, = 0.001; = 0.86, = 0.001; = 0.83, = 0.001). Additionally, based on studies of herring gull primary feathers, decrease of mercury concentration in the diet of birds over the last two decades is also discussed.
海鸥被评估为波罗的海南部沿海地区污染的哨兵，研究材料取自2009年至2012年在波兰海滩和渔港附近收集的死鸟。对四种海鸥物种（银鸥、普通鸥、黑头鸥和大黑背鸥）的羽毛和血液进行了总汞（Hg）浓度测定，同时考虑了羽毛类型、性别和年龄。稳定同位素（δN、δC）被用作食物网中营养级位置的示踪剂。在该研究中，将羽毛和血液作为将汞引入系统的非侵入性饮食暴露指标进行比较。为此，研究了血液、羽毛和鸟类内部组织中汞浓度之间的相关性。在每个物种的肝脏中观察到最强的相关性（银鸥：r = 0.94，p = 0.001；普通鸥：r = 0.89，p = 0.001；黑头鸥：r = 0.53，p = 0.001；大黑背鸥：r = 0.78，p = 0.001）。虽然未发现与羽毛有相关性，但仅发现幼年银鸥的正在生长的羽毛是通过食物暴露的良好直接指标（银鸥：r = 0.71，p = 0.001；普通鸥：r = 0.73，p = 0.001；黑头鸥：r = 0.89，p = 0.001；大黑背鸥：r = 0.86，p = 0.001；未提及的某鸥：r = 0.83，p = 0.001）。此外，基于对银鸥初级羽毛的研究，还讨论了过去二十年鸟类饮食中汞浓度的下降情况。
