title: Preliminary evaluation of the use of homing pigeons as biomonitors of mercury in urban areas of the USA and China.
abstract: Mercury was determined in the tissues (feather, lung, liver, and kidney) of homing pigeons (Columbia livia domestica) from both the USA (Glendora, California and Midland, Texas) and China (Beijing and Chengdu). Among these cities, mercury concentrations were greatest in samples from Beijing, which is known to have relatively high levels of airborne mercury. Among the tissues, levels were highest in the feather, followed by kidney, liver, and lung. There was no significant trend for mercury with pigeon age, weight, or sex, except for mercury with bird weight in the lung of the Beijing samples. Overall, the data adds to the growing body of evidence that the homing pigeon can serve as a useful biomonitor in urban areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA. cizdziel@olemiss.edu
authors.forename: James V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Cizdziel
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dempsey
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Halbrook
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D000818:Animals; D002140:California; D002681:China; D010856:Columbidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013781:Texas; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008628:Mercury