Trace Metals in Tissues of Resident and Migratory Birds from a Lagoon Associated with an Agricultural Drainage Basin (SE Gulf of California)

Abstract

With the aim of knowing Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn concentrations in selected tissues of birds from two places at Altata-Ensenada del Pabellón lagoon in the SE Gulf of California, 39 specimens of 14 species were analyzed. Migratory birds in this study showed the highest values of Cd, Cu, and Pb in liver; Fe and Mn, in viscera; and Zn, in feathers. Concerning the resident avifauna, the highest levels of Cd, Cu, and Fe were detected in the liver, Mn in viscera; and Pb and Zn, in feathers. Regarding Cu and Fe, higher concentrations were detected in migratory avifauna, while Mn and Zn were more accumulated in resident waterfowl. In the case of Cd and Pb, both elements showed a tendency to be more accumulated in resident seabirds. Statistical comparisons showed that in carnivorous and omnivorous birds the resident component was the group with higher levels in more comparisons where mainly Cu and Fe were involved. In the rest of the metals the differences in the concentrations in the distinct tissues of migratory versus resident species were not clearly evident in one group in particular. In a few cases, carnivorous birds had higher levels of Cd than herbivorous and omnivorous birds; for the rest of the metals there was not a clear trend of metal accumulation.