Essential and Nonessential Elements in Nestling Rooks Corvus frugilegus from Eastern Poland with a Special Emphasis on Their High Cadmium Contamination

Abstract

Concentration of minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium [Ca], magnesium, iron [Fe], copper, zinc [Zn], manganese [Mn], and cobalt) as well as toxic metals (cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb]) were determined in five tissues (liver, lung, kidney, muscle, and bone) of nestling rooks (Corvus frugilegus; 1 to 13 days old) found dead in seven breeding colonies in eastern Poland. Cd concentration in all analyzed tissues was in the narrow range of 17.0-17.2 mg/kg dry weight (dw) Cd, which in the light of the literature data indicates acute contamination by this toxic metal. Similarly, we found increased levels of Pb, which in all tissues ranged between 5.0 and 6.2 mg/kg dw. Results of multivariate general linear model (GLM) testing of the effect of three variables (tissue type, colony, and nestling age) on tissue concentrations of various metals showed significance for Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn. Only concentrations of Ca, Fe, and Zn differed significantly between the analyzed tissues. GLM analysis did not show any statistically significant differences in tissue levels of minerals and both toxic metals among examined rookeries, which indicates the widespread presence of nonpoint Cd and Pb pollution linked to agricultural activity and similar levels of these inorganic contaminants on crop fields (feeding grounds) around breeding colonies. We concluded that high levels of both toxic metals, Cd and Pb, probably resulting from the diet of nestling rooks, are based mainly on a diet of ground-dwelling beetles gathered on crop fields.