Esselink H, van der Geld F M, Jager L P, Posthuma-Trumpie G A, Zoun P E, Baars A J
Zoological Laboratory & Science Shop Biology, University of Groningen, Haren, The Netherlands.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1995 May;28(4):471-86. doi: 10.1007/BF00211630.
The feasibility of using the Barn Owl (Tyto alba guttata) to monitor environmental quality in the Netherlands was investigated, using Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, and Fe as indicators for environmental contamination. Throughout 1992, bird-watchers, volunteers, and officials submitted 53 birds. The age and geographical distribution of these birds, formed a representative sample of the population. The following interrelationships were investigated: cause of death, nutrient reserve, age, time of death, place of death, body measurements, sex, condition, and heavy metal concentration in kidney, liver, and tibia. Twenty-eight animals had died after collisions. Fifteen Barn Owls died of exhaustion. In total, twenty-four birds were exhausted, with coccidiosis or other parasitic gastrointestinal infections. The condition of the birds showed that as the birds' condition worsened, fat reserves were depleted before protein reserves. Significant linear relationships were found between decreasing protein reserves and decreasing dry weights of the liver, kidney, flight muscle and heart, but not of the tibia. An asymptotic, nonlinear relation was observed between dry organ weight and fat reserve. This suggested that fat reserves were only found when protein reserves exceeded 15% of the body mass at starvation. Concentrations of Cu and Fe in liver and kidney rose as protein reserves fell; the total content of Cu and Fe per organ, however, remained constant. The Mn concentration of these organs remained constant; Mn content increased with increasing organ sizes. Neither Cd nor Pb showed a clear relationship with parameters of body condition. The ratio between the organ content of Pb or Cd and the dry organ weight, however, revealed some birds from contaminated habitats. The findings suggested that concentrations of environmental contaminants should be measured on a dry weight basis. Furthermore, depending on the pharmacokinetic characteristics of a contaminant, the total content of that contaminant per organ can be more informative than the concentration. In this one year sample of Barn Owls, no indications were found of toxic levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, or Fe in the Netherlands. It is concluded that the Barn Owl is a suitable biomonitor. Furthermore, a network of volunteers can produce an informative sample of the Barn Owl population without interfering with the population.
以镉、铜、铅、锰和铁作为环境污染指标，对利用仓鸮（Tyto alba guttata）监测荷兰环境质量的可行性进行了调查。在1992年全年，观鸟者、志愿者和官员共提交了53只仓鸮。这些仓鸮的年龄和地理分布构成了该种群的一个代表性样本。对以下相互关系进行了调查：死亡原因、营养储备、年龄、死亡时间、死亡地点、身体测量数据、性别、身体状况以及肾脏、肝脏和胫骨中的重金属浓度。28只动物死于碰撞。15只仓鸮死于衰竭。总共有24只鸟出现衰竭，伴有球虫病或其他寄生性胃肠道感染。鸟类的身体状况表明，随着身体状况恶化，脂肪储备在蛋白质储备之前就已耗尽。在蛋白质储备减少与肝脏、肾脏、飞行肌和心脏的干重减少之间发现了显著的线性关系，但与胫骨无关。观察到器官干重与脂肪储备之间存在渐近的非线性关系。这表明只有当蛋白质储备在饥饿时超过体重的15%时才会有脂肪储备。随着蛋白质储备下降，肝脏和肾脏中铜和铁的浓度升高；然而，每个器官中铜和铁的总含量保持不变。这些器官中的锰浓度保持不变；锰含量随着器官大小的增加而增加。镉和铅与身体状况参数均未显示出明显关系。然而，铅或镉的器官含量与器官干重之比揭示了一些来自受污染栖息地的鸟类。研究结果表明，环境污染物浓度应以干重为基础进行测量。此外，根据污染物的药代动力学特征，每个器官中该污染物的总含量可能比浓度更具信息量。在这一年的仓鸮样本中，未发现荷兰存在镉、铜、铅、锰或铁的毒性水平迹象。得出的结论是，仓鸮是一种合适的生物监测器。此外，志愿者网络可以在不干扰种群的情况下产生有关仓鸮种群的信息丰富的样本。
