Effect of spatial resolution of soil data on predictions of eggshell trace element levels in the Rook Corvus frugilegus.
Although a considerable research effort has gone into studying the dietary pathways of metals to the bodies of laying female birds and their eggs in recent years, no detailed investigations have yet been carried out relating the properties of the biogeochemical environment at large spatial scales to eggshell trace element levels in typical soil-invertebrate feeding birds under natural conditions. We used data from a large-scale nationwide monitoring survey of soil quality in Poland (3724 sampling points from the 43 792 available) to predict levels of five trace elements (copper [Cu], cadmium [Cd], nickel [Ni], zinc [Zn] and lead [Pb]) in Rook Corvus frugilegus eggshells from 42 breeding colonies. Our major aim was to test whether differences exist in the explanatory power of soil data (acidity, content of elements and organic matter, and particle size) used as a correlate of concentrations of eggshell trace elements among four different distances (5, 10, 15 and 20 km) around rookeries. Over all four distances around the rookeries only the concentrations of Cu and Cd in eggshells were positively correlated with those in soil, while eggshell Pb was correlated with the soil Pb level at the two longest distances (15 and 20 km) around the rookeries. The physical properties of soil (primarily the increase in pH) adversely affected eggshell Cd and Pb concentrations. The patterns and factors governing metal bioaccumulation in soil invertebrates and eggshells appear to be coincident, which strongly suggests a general similarity in the biochemical pathways of elements at different levels of the food web. The increasing acidification of arable soil as a result of excessive fertilisation and over-nitrification can enhance the bioavailability of toxic elements to laying females and their eggs.
Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bukowska 19, 60-809 Poznań, Poland. Electronic address: orlog@poczta.onet.pl.
Grzegorz
G
Orłowski
Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation-State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland.
Grzegorz
G
Siebielec
Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in Siedlce, Prusa 12, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland.
Zbigniew
Z
Kasprzykowski
Department of Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
Wojciech
W
Dobicki
Department of Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
Przemysław
P
Pokorny
Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lower-Silesian Field Station, al. A. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Krakow, Poland.
Andrzej
A
Wuczyński
Department of Hydrobiology and Aquaculture, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego 38C, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland.
Ryszard
R
Polechoński
Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland.
Tomasz D
TD
Mazgajski
D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000737:chemistry*; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis; D046109:Passeriformes; D011044:Poland; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014131:Trace Elements; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D015032:Zinc
Acidification; Agricultural soil; Avian eggshells; Bioavailability; Bird eggs; Soil monitoring; Trace elements