Cadmium in moose kidney and liver – age and gender dependency, and standardisation for environmental monitoring

Abstract

In the northern hemisphere moose has been found to be suitable as a monitoring animal for the presence of cadmium in the environment. The metal accumulates mainly in the kidney and the liver, with the rate of accumulation dependent on age and possibly also on gender. Collection of tissue material often results in sample selections with disparate age and gender composition, which makes comparison between different regions and different studies difficult. A previous large scale investigation of metals in kidney and liver from moose in Sweden provided Cd data (n = 3,817 and 3,802, respectively) to further explore the relation between Cd accumulation and age/gender. Based on local averages, the individual deviations were analysed with respect to the factors age and gender resulting in an 'ageing function' for each gender and organ. In addition, estimates of the pure individual variations were obtained; the standard deviations correspond to a factor 1.7-1.9 for the Cd concentration, which indicates that 25-30 samples are needed to give a representative mean value (with RSD approximately 10%). In order to be able to compare results from different studies, all individual results can be transformed to represent a 'standard moose' with respect to age and gender. A comparison along these lines was undertaken between Cd levels in Alaska and Sweden. Finally, a relationship between the Cd levels in kidney and liver was derived, providing at least rough estimates for kidney from liver values (or vice versa).

Trace Elements and Metallothionein in Liver and Kidney of Felis catus

“…This suggests chronic exposure of the animals to this metal: in particular cats N 17, N 18, and N 19 appear to have been exposed for longer or to higher concentrations probably through the diet (Table 3). Although Cd-dependent accumulation in liver and kidney has been reported in mice kept in laboratory conditions [35] and wild animals [36], very few data are available on domestic species [37] and this is the first study available on cats. In general, Cd concentrations in liver and kidney in other species are higher than those found in tissues of the specimens analyzed; therefore, we cannot prove any linkage between Cd levels and the observed pathologies.…”

Cadmium and other elements in tissues from four ungulate species from the Mackenzie Mountain region of the Northwest Territories, Canada

“…Hence the samples reported here are from larger, older individuals, exclusively males, and the elemental concentrations observed may not accurately represent the concentrations in younger animals harvested for traditional diets. Gender is also an important factor in contaminants surveys (Danielsson and Frank, 2009). Hence the data reported in this study may accurately reflect the concentrations of a subset of animals in the population (i.e.…”

“…The method of sample collection used in this study may significantly influence the interpretation of the tissue concentrations and interspecific and inter-tissue relationships of individual elements. Age has been shown to be a significant correlate with the tissue concentration of many metals in ungulates (Gamberg et al, 2005b;Danielsson and Frank, 2009) but could not be adequately tested in this study due to the narrow range in ages of the animals harvested. The non-resident hunter-collected samples reflect a subset of the population that is biased for regulatory or esthetic reasons.…”

Cadmium and mercury accumulation in European hare (Lepus europaeus): age-dependent relationships in renal and hepatic tissue

“…Comprehensive studies of the Cd and Hg uptake in tissues have been performed for different herbivora animals (Medvedev 1999;Lazarus et al 2008;Reglero et al 2008;Danielson and Frank 2009;Hermoso et al 2011;BerzasNevado et al 2012). However, its determination in a true biological context is intricate.…”

“…In spite of careful analysis, errors when categorizing the animals can lead to misleading data interpretation and the validity of the investigation can be lost. Consequently, attention must be given to sampling and pre-sampling factors (Danielson and Frank 2009). …”