University of Gdansk, Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, Department of Marine Chemistry and Environmental Protection, Al. Marszałka Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland.
Institute of Meteorology and Water Management - National Research Institute, Waszyngtona 42 Str., 81-342 Gdynia, Poland.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Feb 1;754:141947. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141947. Epub 2020 Aug 25.
Marine mammals found at the top of the trophic pyramid are excellent bioindicators of pollutants in the marine environment, the concentrations of which increase along with the trophic level of the organism. As these animals are usually protected species, their contamination has to be assessed non-invasively by analysing excrement and epidermal structures such as fur or claws. The present study involved testing the excrement and fur of the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) from the Southern Baltic coast and the Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonine) from Admiralty Bay, along with fish muscle (food) and the lithological background of both areas, for the presence of rare earth elements (REE). The soil on the Baltic coast is characterized by the predomination of light rare earth elements (LREE): yttrium, lanthanum and cerium (∑REE = 7.86 mg·kg dw). In the soil and bedrock of Admiralty Bay all REEs were found except for terbium, thulium and lutetium (∑REE = 96.1 mg·kg dw). The REE levels found in the muscles of Baltic herring (∑REE = 0.057 mg·kg ww) were lower than those in the muscles of marbled rockcod (∑REE = 0.540 mg·kg ww). The situation was analogous in the mammals, with the REE concentrations in grey seal fur (∑REE = 0.489 mg·kg dw) and excrement (∑REE = 0.676 mg·kg dw) being lower than those found in the fur (∑REE = 10.1 mg·kg dw) and excrement (∑REE = 83.6 mg·kg dw) of the elephant seal. The LREE/HREE partition coefficients in the grey seal excrement (3.37) and its fur (4.00), but also in the faeces of the elephant seal (2.63) and its fur (2.65), indicate that in each species the process of elimination from the body occurs in similar proportions.
在营养级金字塔顶端发现的海洋哺乳动物是海洋环境污染物的极好生物指标，这些污染物的浓度随着生物体的营养级升高而增加。由于这些动物通常是受保护的物种，因此必须通过分析粪便和表皮结构（如毛发或爪子）来非侵入性地评估其污染情况。本研究涉及测试波罗的海南部沿海的灰海豹（Halichoerus grypus）和阿德默勒尔蒂湾的南方象海豹（Mirounga leonine）的粪便和皮毛，以及鱼类肌肉（食物）和两个地区的岩石背景，以检测稀土元素（REE）的存在。波罗的海沿岸的土壤以轻稀土元素（LREE）的优势为特征：钇、镧和铈（∑REE=7.86mg·kg dw）。在阿德默勒尔蒂湾的土壤和基岩中发现了所有的 REE，除了铽、铥和镥（∑REE=96.1mg·kg dw）。波罗的海鲱鱼肌肉中的 REE 水平（∑REE=0.057mg·kg ww）低于大理石岩鳕鱼肌肉中的 REE 水平（∑REE=0.540mg·kg ww）。这种情况在哺乳动物中也类似，灰海豹皮毛（∑REE=0.489mg·kg dw）和粪便（∑REE=0.676mg·kg dw）中的 REE 浓度低于象海豹皮毛（∑REE=10.1mg·kg dw）和粪便（∑REE=83.6mg·kg dw）中的浓度。灰海豹粪便（3.37）和皮毛（4.00）以及象海豹粪便（2.63）和皮毛（2.65）中的 LREE/HREE 分配系数表明，在每种物种中，从体内排出的过程以相似的比例发生。
