Title
Analysis of toxic and essential elements in the blood and feathers of humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) at Punta San Juan, Peru
Date Issued
01 April 2019
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Adkesson M.J.
Levengood J.M.
Scott J.W.
Schaeffer D.J.
Panno B.
Langan J.N.
James-Yi S.
Publisher(s)
Wildlife Disease Association, Inc.
Abstract
Whole blood, serum, and feather samples from 29 Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) at the Punta San Juan Marine Protected Area, Peru, were analyzed for 55 toxic and essential elements by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mercury (Hg) was analyzed by cold vapor atomic fluorescence. Maximum Hg concentrations in serum (0.0056 mg/g), whole blood (0.297 mg/kg), and feathers (1.8 mg/kg dry weight) were at levels generally not considered to cause health impairment. Of the elements analyzed, only eight (aluminum, calcium, iron, Hg, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and zinc) were detected in serum. These elements, plus selenium and titanium, were also quantifiable in whole blood. Feather analysis detected quantifiable values for the elements found in serum, plus arsenic, boron, barium, copper, manganese, and titanium. Results indicate this important breeding population of endangered penguins did not appear to be exposed to environmental elemental contaminants at levels detrimental to health and reproductive success. However, identification of measurable concentrations of toxic elements at low levels underscores the need for continued environmental monitoring, particularly in the face of expanding regional human populations and industrial growth. These results provide important reference data for temporospatial monitoring of this and other penguin populations.
Start page
438
End page
443
Volume
55
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Biología del desarrollo Ciencia veterinaria
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85064722695
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
ISSN of the container
00903558
Source funding
Chicago Board of Trade Endangered Species Fund
Sponsor(s)
Research was authorized under Peruvian permit 131-2009-AG-DGFFS-DGEFFS, US Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) permit 09US205977/ 9, and Peruvian CITES permit 000353. Funding was provided by the Saint Louis Zoo’s Field Research for Conservation Fund and WildCare Institute, the Chicago Zoological Society, and Chicago Board of Trade Endangered Species Fund. The Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, contributed in-kind services. We thank Patricia Majluf, Val Beasley, Marco Cardeña, Santiago de la Puente, Franco Garcia, Paulo Guerrero, Maria Jose Ganoza, Alonso Bussalleu, and Michael Macek for their support of this project. In addition, we thank Nandakishore Rajagopalan, Gerald Bargren, and Christie Teausant for technical assistance and laboratory support with chemical analysis.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus