title: The Presence of Mercury in the Tissues of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos L.) from Włocławek Reservoir in Poland.
abstract: The study aimed at determining the degree of mercury contamination of mallards, game waterbirds migrating from the regions of the unknown degree of contamination and establishing whether the consumption of their meat comprises a hazard to human health in view of the binding norms concerning the mercury content in food products. The investigations were carried out on 30 mallards shot during the duck shooting season in which mercury concentrations in the muscles, liver, and kidneys were determined using the cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) method. The mean Hg concentration in the investigated tissues in all birds studied amounted to 0.110, 0.154, and 0.122 mg kg-1for the muscles, kidneys, and liver, respectively. The study indicated statistically significant (p ≤ 0.01) positive correlation between all of the organs examined. Animals were divided into two groups differing in both absolute values of Hg concentrations and those measured in individual tissues. In particular organs of birds representing the first group, the presence of highly significant correlation (p ≤ 0.01) was observed in all organs examined. In the second group, highly significant positive correlation between Hg concentrations in the liver and kidneys and highly significant negative dependence between the liver and muscles was noted. The examinations revealed that some birds must have come from regions of a high degree of mercury contamination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animals Environment Biology, Faculty of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Żarski
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159 C, 02-776, Warsaw, Poland. michal_skibniewski@sggw.pl.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skibniewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Animals Environment Biology, Faculty of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skibniewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Animals Environment Biology, Faculty of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786, Warsaw, Poland.|Halina Konopacka Higher School of Physical Culture and Tourism, Andrzeja 1, 05-800, Pruszków, Poland.
authors.forename: Tadeusz P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Żarski
authors.affiliation: Department of Animals Environment Biology, Faculty of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Majdecka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004372:Ducks / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry*; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011044:Poland; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Kidneys; Liver; Mallard; Mercury; Muscles