Distribution of Mercury in Pheasant Muscle and Feathers

Abstract

One hundred forty-eight pheasants (Phasianus colchicus torquatus) from Idaho were tested by neutron activation analysis at the National Reactor Testing Station, Idaho, in August 1979 to check for possible mercury contamination. Seventy-five percent showed detectable mercury, 35% showed greater than 0.5 ppm, and 2.7% (four birds) exceeded 5.0 parts per million in muscle tissue. On the hypothesis that feathers might provide a monitor of mercury levels in birds, a check for correlations between mercury in flesh and feathers was made on 48 of the test birds. Ninety-one percent of the feather samples had mercury present if the corresponding muscle sample had mercury present. Seven feather samples had mercury present when the corresponding muscle samples showed no detectable mercury. Six birds were without detectable mercury in flesh or feathers. In 18 muscle samples exceeding 1.0 ppm mercury, only one corresponding feather sample had a higher mercury concentration. Mercury levels in muscle appeared to cluster around three significantly different means: 0.276, 1.425, and 4.78 ppm. Corresponding mercury levels in feathers show greater variances that are associated with the lower levels of tissue mercury. 12 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.