title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, Powstancow Wielkopolskich Av. 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland, ekalist@pum.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kalisinska
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gorecki
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lanocha
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okonska
authors.forename: Javier B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Melgarejo
authors.forename: Halina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budis
authors.forename: Izabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rzad
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Golas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046093:Falconiformes; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D011044:Poland; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical