title: Mercury concentration in the feathers of birds from various trophic levels in Fereydunkenar International wetland (Iran).
abstract: Mercury (Hg) is one of the main global pollutants that may biomagnify in food nets, especially in wetlands. Birds may be useful in the biomonitoring of Hg in such habitats and may even serve in vivo samples. This paper examined Hg concentration in the feathers of seven bird species foraging on Fereydunkenar International wetland (in 2013). Mean Hg concentrations found ranged from 0.005 ± 0.002 μg g-1d.w. (dry weight) (Common hoopoe) to 0.38 ± 0.047 μg g-1d.w. (Greylag goose). Significant differences in Hg concentrations were noted between bird species as well as between trophic levels (one-way ANOVAs, p < 0.001). The decrease in mean Hg concentration in feathers was as follows: Greylag goose > Northern pintail ≥ Gadwall ≥ Mallard > Eurasian bittern ≥ Little bittern > Common hoopoe. The position in the trophic chain significantly influenced Hg concentrations, which were the highest in omnivorous species. Hg concentrations may also depend on migration routes and breeding habitats, but the evaluation of the exposure exceeds the ambit of this paper. The Hg concentrations found generally were low, lower than the safe thresholds reported in the literature.
authors.affiliation: College of Biology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159, Nanjing, 210037, China.
authors.forename: Mousa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmadpour
authors.affiliation: College of Biology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Longpan Road 159, Nanjing, 210037, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lan-Hai
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, 4913815739, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmadpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Malayer, Malayer, 6751995863, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Hamid
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hoseini
authors.affiliation: Environmental Forensic Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resource, Tarbiat Modares University, 64414-356, Noor, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mashrofeh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Podbrzezie 3, 31-054, Krakow, Poland. ljbinkowski@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Łukasz J
authors.initials: ŁJ
authors.lastname: Binkowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D007492:Iran; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Birds; Feather; Hg; Pollution; Wetland