Naslov
Toxic metals in Croatian large terrestrial carnivores

Autori
Vihnanek Lazarus, Maja ; Sekovanić, Ankica ; Reljić, Slaven ; Kusak, Josip ; Huber, Đuro ; Jurasović, Jasna

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, ostalo

Izvornik
Book of Abstracts of the Symposium HAZU Parasitic zoonoses and heavy metals in terrestrial and marine predators. / - Zagreb, 2013, 16-17

Skup
Symposium HAZU Parasitic zoonoses and heavy metals in terrestrial and marine predators.

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 20.05.2013

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Brown bear, toxic metals, Croatia.

Sažetak
The bear and the wolf are large terrestrial carnivores whose position in the food web implies a potentially high intake of toxic metals. The main source for this intake is food: for bears, food mostly originates from plants ; while for wolves, it mainly originates from the meat of other animals. Therefore, the toxic metal content in their tissue reflects the toxic metal levels in the environment. Toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), accumulate in the organism and are excreted very slowly. This, depending on the levels, enables these metals to negatively impact the health of animals and the people who eat their meat (for instance, bear meat). There are no data in the available literature on the monitoring of toxic metals (or any other element) in the Dinaric population of large carnivores, except for a limited report on few individuals. This investigation was aimed at measuring the Cd, Pb, and Hg levels in the tissue (muscles, liver, and renal cortex) of 136 brown bears and 40 grey wolves hunted (according to the Croatian Brown Bear Management Plan and Croatian Wolf Management Plan) or killed otherwise in the Croatian regions of Gorski kotar, Lika, and Dalmacija during 2009 and 2010. Metal levels in the tissues were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after high-pressure microwave decomposition. The following levels of Cd, Pb, and Hg were found in the bear tissue (median ; μg/g wet tissue weight): muscle 0.008, 0.007, and 0.002, liver 1.09, 0.496 and 0.031, kidney 16.5, 1.12, and 0.206 ; while wolf tissues had the following levels: muscle 0.0003, 0.004, and 0.003, liver 0.055, 0.107, and 0.016, kidney 0.182, 0.088, and 0.034. Wolves exhibited somewhat lower metal concentrations than bears and the highest discrepancy was found in the Cd levels, which is the result of the differences in the amount of food consumed and general dietary habits. In bears, females had approx. twice as high levels of Cd and Hg than males, whereas wolves displayed no gender differences. Increased Cd levels in a group of older bears (older than 3 years) and wolves (older than 2 years) when compared to younger individuals (p<0.05) indicate an accumulation of Cd in all of the investigated tissues. Considering the official highest permitted values for metal levels in meat, bear meat can be declared safe for human consumption, with the exception of bear offal, which contains higher levels of Cd.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Veterinarska medicina

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