Vet Med - Czech, 2023, 68(4):164-174 | DOI: 10.17221/16/2023-VETMED

Mercury distribution in the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) from the Krogulna ponds and Nysa Kłodzka River (Poland)Original Paper

K Novotna Kruzikova1, Z Siroka ORCID...1, T Kral1, P Hliwa2, P Gomulka2, A Spodniewska3, Z Svobodova1
1 Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
2 Department of Ichtyology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
3 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland

Mercury belongs among the highly hazardous substances present in the environment and represents a great health risk for many animals including predatory and piscivorous birds. The aim of this study was to assess the total mercury content in the main detoxifying organs (liver and kidney) and in the muscles of adult great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) caught at two localities (the Krogulna ponds and the Nysa Kłodzka River) in southern Poland. The aim was to compare the locality with the iron ore mining history (the Krogulna ponds) with a site without such load (the Nysa Kłodzka River). The total mercury content in the great cormorants decreases as follows: kidneys > liver > muscle in both monitored localities and significantly differs between the localities. The average mercury content varied from 0.58 ± 0.38 mg/kg (muscle) to 1.39 ± 1.42 mg/kg (kidney) in the cormorant from the Krogulna ponds and from 1.09 ± 0.40 mg/kg (muscle) to 3.12 ± 1.55 mg/kg (kidney) in the cormorant from the Nysa Kłodzka River. The accumulation of mercury does not correlate with the mining history as it was higher at the Nysa Kłodzka River, but it is probably influenced by the different fish stocks in these two localities (omnivorous fish in the Krogulna ponds versus predatory fish in the Nysa Kłodzka River).

Keywords: heavy metal; kidney; liver; mining; muscle; piscivores

Received: February 8, 2023; Revised: April 11, 2023; Accepted: April 12, 2023; Prepublished online: April 25, 2023; Published: April 28, 2023  Show citation

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Novotna Kruzikova K, Siroka Z, Kral T, Hliwa P, Gomulka P, Spodniewska A, Svobodova Z. Mercury distribution in the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) from the Krogulna ponds and Nysa Kłodzka River (Poland). Vet Med - Czech. 2023;68(4):164-174. doi: 10.17221/16/2023-VETMED.
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