title: Residues of chromium, nickel, cadmium and lead in Rook Corvus frugilegus eggshells from urban and rural areas of Poland.
abstract: We examined the concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in Rook Corvus frugilegus eggshells from 43 rookeries situated in rural and urban areas of western (=intensive agriculture) and eastern (=extensive agriculture) Poland. We found small ranges in the overall level of Cr (the difference between the extreme values was 1.8-fold; range of concentrations=5.21-9.40 Cr ppm), Ni (3.5-fold; 1.15-4.07 Ni ppm), and Cd (2.6-fold; 0.34-0.91 Cd ppm), whereas concentrations of Pb varied markedly, i.e. 6.7-fold between extreme values (1.71-11.53 Pb ppm). Eggshell levels of these four elements did not differ between rural rookeries from western and eastern Poland, but eggshells from rookeries in large/industrial cities had significantly higher concentrations of Cr, Ni and Pb than those from small towns and villages. Our study suggests that female Rooks exhibited an apparent variation in the intensity of trace metal bioaccumulation in their eggshells, that rapid site-dependent bioaccumulation of Cu, Cr, Ni and Pb occurs as a result of the pollution gradient (rural<urban), and that Cd levels are probably regulated physiologically, even though these were relatively high, which could be treated as an overall proxy of a heavy Cd load in the soil environment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bukowska 19, 60-809 Poznań, Poland. Electronic address: orlog@poczta.onet.pl.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orłowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Nature Protection, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Prusa 12, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland.
authors.forename: Zbigniew
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kasprzykowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Limnology and Fishery, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dobicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Limnology and Fishery, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Przemysław
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pokorny
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lower-Silesian Field Station, Podwale 75, 50-449 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wuczyński
authors.affiliation: Department of Limnology and Fishery, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Polechoński
authors.affiliation: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Mazgajski
mesh_terms: D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis; D002857:Chromium / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis; D010063:Ovum / Q000737:chemistry*; D011044:Poland
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D002104:Cadmium; D002857:Chromium; D009532:Nickel
keywords: Agricultural contaminants; Non-essential elements; Soil contamination; Soil-invertebrate diet; Toxic metals; Trace elements