title: Distribution of metals and trace elements in adult and juvenile penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula area.
abstract: The presence of metals in the Antarctic environment is principally a natural phenomenon caused by geochemical characteristics of the region, although some anthropogenic activities can increase these natural levels. Antarctic penguins present several of the characteristics of useful sentinels of pollution in Antarctica such as they are long-lived species situated at the top of food web. The concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, and Pb were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in samples of liver, kidney, muscle, bone, feather, and stomach contents of gentoo, chinstrap, and Adélie penguin (12 adults, five juveniles) from carcasses of naturally dead individuals collected opportunistically in the Antarctic Peninsula area. The obtained results showed that accumulation and magnification of several elements can be occurring, so that Cd and Se reached levels potentially toxic in some specimens. The presence of human activities seems to be increasing the presence of toxic metals such as Mn, Cr, Ni, or Pb in penguins.
authors.affiliation: Área de Toxicología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain. silviajerez@um.es
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jerez
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motas
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benzal
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: D'Amico
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbosa
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008670:Metals / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D013045:Species Specificity; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008670:Metals; D014131:Trace Elements