Cadmium, zinc, copper, arsenic, selenium and mercury in seabirds from the Barents Sea: levels, inter-specific and geographical differences

Trace elements Cd, Zn, Cu, As, Se and Hg were analysed in muscle and liver of Brünnich's guillemot, Common guillemot, Puffin, Black guillemot, Little auk, Razorbill, Common eider, King eider, Glaucous gull, Herring gull, Black-legged kittiwake, Northern fulmar and Arctic tern collected in 1991–...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2003-05, Vol.306 (1), p.133-158
Main Authors: Savinov, Vladimir M, Gabrielsen, Geir W, Savinova, Tatiana N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arctic Regions
Aves
Birds
Geography
Marine
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Metals, Heavy - pharmacokinetics
Reference Values
Seabirds
The Barents Sea
Tissue Distribution
Tissue levels
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Summary:Trace elements Cd, Zn, Cu, As, Se and Hg were analysed in muscle and liver of Brünnich's guillemot, Common guillemot, Puffin, Black guillemot, Little auk, Razorbill, Common eider, King eider, Glaucous gull, Herring gull, Black-legged kittiwake, Northern fulmar and Arctic tern collected in 1991–1992 at the main breeding colonies in the Barents Sea. The highest levels of the most toxic elements Cd and Hg were found in birds nesting north of Spitsbergen. Extremely high levels of As were detected in tissues of all seabird species collected at colonies in Chernaya Guba (Novaya Zemlya), where nuclear tests were carried out in the 1960s. In general, levels of all of the trace elements in the Barents Sea seabirds were similar or lower in comparison with those reported for the same seabird species from the other Arctic areas. Data on metallothionein concentrations in different seabird species need to be collected in order to understand the mechanism of bioaccumulation and possible toxic effects of trace elements in Arctic seabirds.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00489-8