Heavy Metal Concentrations in Bank Voles (Clethrionomys Glareolus) from Protected and Agricultural Territories of Lithuania

Abstract

In the article, data about concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Cd) in bodies and stomach contents of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from seven protected and agricultural territories are presented. In both the bodies and stomach contents of the voles the highest accumulated heavy metal levels were those of Cu, with an exception of three cases: in the spring of 1998, when in the stomach contents from agricultural territories of Eastern and Western Lithuania the concentration of Ni was the highest, and in the autumn of 1999, when in the bodies from the deltaic plain of Western Lithuania the concentration of Pb was the highest. Concentrations of individual heavy metals in the bodies and stomach contents differed within a wide range. The levels of Cd usually were the lowest. In spring and autumn, in the voles from protected territories total concentrations of heavy metals fluctuated between 25.2 and 6.0 and in their stomach contents – 3.7 and 4.1 times, respectively. In the animals from a...