The influence of preferred habitat and daily range of the European hare on its contamination by heavy metals: a case study from the West Carpathians

Concentration of selected biogenic and risk elements in liver, kidneys and muscle of domestic rabbit and wild brown hare

In the present study the concentration of selected elements in tissues of domestic rabbits and of wild brown-hares (kidneys, liver, and muscle - m. quadriceps femoris) in Slovakian habitats were determined. After mineralization the elements examined were detected using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry/graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. For rabbits, Fe in the liver was correlated with essential (Mn, Cu) (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.05; R2 = 0.96, p < 0.05 respectively) or toxic (Pb) elements (R2 = -0.93, p < 0.05). For hares, significant correlations were found between Cd and Cu or between Cd and Mn in the kidneys (R2 = -0.96, p < 0.05; R2 = 0.92, p < 0.05 respectively), which is the target organ for Cd. Higher concentrations of the elements were found in hare tissue, and this may be linked to pollution of their wild habitats. The xenobiotic elements as well as the essential elements were accumulated in the kidneys of the hares than rabbits. For liver, differences were less pronounced and significance was only for Fe and Cu. Muscle of hares was more contaminated than of rabbits for both biogenic and toxic elements. These results show that detectable concentrations of inorganic elements. These levels may be linked to contamination of the natural habitats of wild biota due to industry, traffic, agriculture, and urban sprawl.

Mercury in the feathers of Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) from Western Carpathian, Slovakia

In this study, mercury (Hg) concentrations were detected in feathers of golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), a bird that typically inhabits alpine and forest areas. The mercury rates in feathers were compared in two groups of eagles: first, estimated home range (breeding, hunting, etc.) was located only in forest and lowland meadow habitats; second, the home range also included alpine habitats-rocks and meadows. Consequently, mercury concentration based on the feather typology were observed and the mercury levels in feathers were also compared among different Slovak Western Carpathian districts. It was found that there was no significant difference between groups classified by elevation level, which we attribute to the fact that eagle hunting territories are broad, so that alpine-dwelling and forest-dwelling eagles do not only reflect the pollution of the environments they typically inhabit. Non-significant differences were found also within different feather types, which means that the type of feather is not crucial for tracking mercury in eagle feathers. As the measurement of feather appears to be a simple and non-invasive method, the detection of non-significant differences in diverse types of golden eagle feathers provides useful knowledge for the future environment monitoring. The average mercury concentration measured in eagle samples was lower than the mercury concentration causing health complications among birds of prey. Our assumption that due to past mining activity in the Spiš region, the highest concentration in this region would be observed was confirmed.

The European Hare (Lepus europaeus) as a Biomonitor of Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) Occurrence in the Agro Biotope of Vojvodina, Serbia

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of two heavy metals, lead and cadmium, in European hare liver samples, collected in agro biotope of northern Serbian province Vojvodina. Heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) do not have any biological function in the animal body; however, they can be found due to the pollution in the environment. For the purpose of this study, in 196 samples from 17 different locations hare livers were analyzed for the occurrence of lead and cadmium. All samples were taken from hares harvested during the regular hunting season. The average value for lead in all analyzed samples was 884 µg/kg fresh weight (fw), with the range 59–3700 µg/kg fw. Only samples from two locations had the average concentration of lead which was within the permitted limit by the Serbian regulation. The average cadmium level in all samples was 243 µg/kg fw. The range of all samples was from 0 to 1414 µg/kg fw. Our research indicates that out of two investigated heavy metals, the occurrence of lead is more common and at a higher concentration in the agricultural development region of Vojvodina.

The Effect of Sample Preparation and Measurement Techniques on Heavy Metals Concentrations in Soil: Case Study from Kraków, Poland, Europe

Accurate and reliable laboratory results are an extremely important and integral part of conducting scientific research. Many factors influence the results obtained, including the type of determination method, accuracy and precision of measurements, and laboratory equipment used for the tests. This paper presents the results of measurements of heavy metal concentration in soil using two methods for adding soil components into solution and different laboratory methods and types of measuring equipment. The first method used was hot digestion of soil samples with a mixture of concentrated HNO3 and HClO4, after prior ashing of organic matter (IUNG method). The second method was a two-stage decomposition, where soil samples were hot digested, initially with oxidizing acid (HNO3) and subsequently with non-oxidizing acid (HF) (two-stage decomposition). The concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in solutions obtained by both digestion methods. The solutions obtained from soil decomposition were determined twice using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS) methods in different laboratories using different types of spectrometers. In most cases, the measured concentrations of heavy metals are the highest for the two-stage solution samples and the measurements of their concentrations carried out using ICP. The exceptions are the measurements of Cu and Ni concentrations. In the case of Cu, lack of significant differentiation in concentrations of this metal may result from different forms of occurrence of Cu in soil than in the case of other metals. For Ni, however, a reversal of the trends seen for the other metals is observed and the type of spectrometer used for measurements is important. There may be an interference of the spectrometric spectrum of Ni with the spectra of the other determined metals. However, this is not clear at the present stage of the study. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that the choice of soil sample preparation and the type of spectrometer used for measurements can, in many cases, determine the value of laboratory results, even if it is in an expected range of standard material. Research of published papers proved that most of them show only results based on one selected course of methodology without comparison with others. The novelty of the paper is the comparison of the measurements of heavy metal concentration in soil using two methods for adding soil components into solution and different laboratory methods and types of measuring equipment. Additionally, the article includes a discussion of the importance of methodology. We believe that the conclusions may help to better understand how sample preparation and measurement methods applied may influence the results obtained.