Abstract
The mute swan (Cygnus olor) can be considered a representative species of birds associated with the aquatic environment and responding very clearly to changes in the environment. Assuming that the condition of the mute swan population well reflects the state of the environment, this species was used in our research as a bioindicative species. Thus, the aim of our study was to elucidate the association between metal contents in soil samples collected from a habitat of mute swans and element contents in their feathers as well as the levels of biomarkers of lipid peroxidation, oxidatively modified proteins, and total antioxidant capacity in the blood of mute swans living in three agglomerations in coastal areas in the southern part of the Baltic Sea (Pomeranian region, northern Poland). We compared the effects of inhabitation, age, and sex on the ecophysiological accumulation of metals in three wintering populations of the mute swan from coastal areas of northern Poland, i.e., Słupsk, Gdynia, and Sopot. In Słupsk, the anthropogenic pressure was related predominantly to the level of Al and, to a lesser extent, to the content of Rh and Ru. We found maximum levels of lipid peroxidation biomarkers in the blood of the mute swans from Gdynia (38.20 ± 6.35 nmol MDA·mL−1). At the same time, maximum levels of aldehydic and ketonic derivatives of oxidatively modified proteins were noted in the blood of swans from Sopot compared to the values obtained in mute swans from Słupsk and Gdynia. This trend suggesting high levels of oxidative stress biomarkers was also confirmed by a decrease in the total antioxidant capacity in these groups.
Highlights
The functioning of the environment of living organisms has an impact on various levels of ecosystem organization (Marchowski et al 2018)
The goal of the current study was to elucidate the associa‐ tion between metal contents in soil samples collected from a habitat of these birds and element contents in their feathers as well as the levels of biomarkers of lipid peroxidation, oxidatively modified proteins, and total antioxidant capacity in the blood of mute swans living in three agglomerations in coastal areas in the southern part of the Baltic Sea (Pomera‐ nian region, northern Poland)
The data presented in the current study regarding the induc‐ tion of oxidative stress in birds were carried out to deter‐ mine such oxidative stress biomarkers as lipid peroxidation, aldehydic and ketonic derivatives of oxidatively modified proteins, and total antioxidant capacity in the blood of mute swans inhabiting the coastal areas of Słupsk, Gdynia, and Sopot (Pomeranian region, northern Poland)
Summary
The functioning of the environment of living organisms has an impact on various levels of ecosystem organization (Marchowski et al 2018). The Baltic Sea is one of the larg‐ est brackish seas in the world; such properties make it par‐ ticularly vulnerable to pollution and eutrophication (Dietz et al 2021). The very long period of total water exchange in the Baltic Sea (25–30 years) is one of the factors making it one of the most polluted seas in the world For this reason, ecotoxicological studies are being conducted to identify effective bioindicators while determin‐ ing the level of pollution (Sonne et al 2020b). Ecotoxicological studies are being conducted to identify effective bioindicators while determin‐ ing the level of pollution (Sonne et al 2020b) This approach helps to assess the degree of xenobiotic impacts on the popu‐ lation and structure of aquatic and terrestrial coastal ecosys‐ tems (Binkowski et al 2016)
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