Assessment of trace elements concentrations in Western reef heron (Egretta gularis) from southern Iran. (January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hoshyari, Ebrahim; Pourkhabbaz, Alireza; Mansouri, Borhan
• Is Part Of: Toxicology and industrial health. Volume 31:Number 1(2015)
• Page Start: 60
• Page End: 66
• Publication Date: 2015-01
• Subjects: Hara biosphere reserve -- shorebird -- gender effects -- toxicology -- contamination; Toxicology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Industrial toxicology -- Periodicals; 615.9
• DOI: 10.1177/0748233712468022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0748-2337

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to investigate the levels of metals, cadmium, lead, and zinc, in Western reef heron ( Egretta gularis ) ( n = 15) in order to (1) examine the sex-related variation in trace metal accumulation and (2) determine the significant differences between the metal concentrations in the kidney, liver, and pectoral muscle. Bird samples were collected from throughout the Hara biosphere reserve of southern Iran, during November and December 2010 and the concentration of metals were measured using a Shimadzu AA 680 flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The overall cadmium, lead and zinc concentrations means were measured as 0.8 ± 0.1, 3.4 ± 1.1, and 29.4 ± 12.9 μg/g for kidney; 0.7 ± 0.1, 2.2 ± 0.5, and 65.9 ± 20.7 μg/g for liver; and 0.2 ± 0.1, 2.2 ± 0.7, and 17.6 ± 12.9 μg/g for pectoral muscle, respectively. The results showed that with the exception of cadmium in liver, there were no significant differences between males and females ( t test, p > 0.05). In the contrast, the results indicated metal concentrations differed significantly in kidneys, livers, and pectoral muscles among tissues in Western reef heron (one-way analysis of variance, p < 0.001).