Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 69, Issue 1-2, Pages 67-75Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.01.004
Keywords
Trace elements; Metals; Pollution; Antarctic penguin chicks; South Shetland Islands
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
- European Regional Development Fund [CGL2004-01348, POL2006-05175, CGL2007-60369, CTM2011-24427]
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The concentration of human activities in the near-shore ecosystems from the northern Antarctic Peninsula area can cause an increasing bioavailability of pollutants for the vulnerable Antarctic biota. Penguin chicks can reflect this potential impact in the rookeries during the breeding season. They also can reflect biomagnification phenomena since they are on the top of the Antarctic food chain. The concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were measured by ICP-MS in samples of liver, kidney, muscle, bone, feather and stomach content of gentoo, chinstrap and Adelie penguin chicks (n = 15 individuals) collected opportunistically in the Islands of King George and Deception (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). The detected levels of some trace elements were not as low as it could be expected in the isolated Antarctic region. Penguin chicks can be useful indicators of trace elements abundance in the study areas. Capsule: Carcasses of Antarctic penguin chicks were used to evaluate the bioavailability of trace elements in the Islands of King George and Deception. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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