Total and Methylmercury in Soft Tissues of White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Collected in Poland

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) contamination in piscivorous birds, especially methylmercury (MeHg), has been drawing much attention worldwide in regard to its bioaccumulation and biomagnification in food chains. In this study on Hg in the soft tissues of white-tailed eagles (n = 22) and ospreys (n = 2) from Poland, total Hg (THg) range was 0.15–47.6 while MeHg range was 0.11–8.05 mg kg−1 dry weight. In both species, median THg and MeHg concentrations were lower in the muscle and brain than in the liver and kidney. Median nephric residues were just under 3 and 5 mgTHg kg−1 or 0.9 and 3.7 mgMeHg kg−1 for white-tailed eagle and osprey, respectively. In Norwegian data from the 1970s and in our results, MeHg in the muscle of white-tailed eagle was ~60 % THg (%MeHg = MeHg/THg × 100), lower than in other piscivorous birds. A clear similarity in THg tissue levels was found between Polish and German populations of white-tailed eagles.

Concentrations of lead and other elements in the liver of the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a European flagship species, wintering in Eastern Poland

“…Mean hepatic concentrations (mg kg −1 dw) of Hg, both in our study (1.046) and in a study from the South Baltic (mean 1.91; Kalisinska et al 2014a ), confirm a current decrease in environmental Hg concentrations, perhaps due to various activities aimed at limiting its industrial emissions. At the beginning of the 1990s, white-tailed eagles from Northwestern Poland accumulated an average of 5.8 (range: 0.6–21.0) of hepatic Hg (Falandysz et al 2001 ).…”

“…PCA and SIMPER analyses revealed the two main elements that differed the most in the livers of the studied white-tailed eagles: Pb and Hg; most individuals with a high level of one of these elements also had a low value for the other, which suggests different sources of origin for both elements (Kalisinska et al 2014a ). Although fertilizers are often blamed for being a source of Hg contamination (Mortvedt 1995 ; Otero et al 2005 ) and coal combustion is cited as a significant source of Hg emissions (Pacyna et al 2006 ; Hlawiczka and Cenowski 2013 ; Zajusz-Zubek and Konieczyński 2014 ) in Poland, the main source of Hg contamination in this study was aquatic prey (fish and birds).…”

“…Livers are frequently used for bioindication purposes (Horai et al 2007 ; Castro et al 2011 ; Schummer et al 2011 ; Kalisinska et al 2014a ). On the one hand, this organ serves as a reservoir of many vital substances; on the other hand, it plays an important role in the detoxification of accumulated toxic material (e.g., toxic heavy metals).…”

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors—what types of samples should we use?

“…For Hg, the highest tissue concentrations are found in the kidney and liver, followed by muscle and brain (Norheim and Frøslie 1978 ; Holt et al 1979 ; Häkkinen and Häsänen 1980 ; Kalisinska et al 2014 ). How Hg partitions between internal organs depends on whether exposure is to organic or inorganic forms of the metal, and the Hg kidney:liver molar ratio has been proposed as a mean of distinguishing between chronic exposure to MeHg and inorganic Hg (Scheuhammer 1987 ).…”

The construction and testing of the portable Hg2+ ultrasonic calibrator for the control of mercury speciation systems

“…In the bottom sediments Hg 2 þ could be transformed into the highly toxic methylmercury and after biomagnification may reach a level hazardous to living species. MeHg can return to the atmosphere as a part of mercury reemission [7][8][9] and [10].…”