The potential use of fairy prions (Pachyptila turtur) as monitors of heavy metal levels in Tasmanian waters |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 – bus 2450, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium;2. BAM-Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Division 5.3, D-12205 Berlin, Germany;3. Laboratory of Solid-State Physics and Magnetism, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium;1. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia;2. CERAR and CRCCARE, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia;1. Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China;2. Department of Chemistry and Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China;3. School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential use of the fairy prion to monitor contamination in the marine food chain following ocean dumping of industrial waste in S.E. Tasmania. Factors considered that can complicate interpretation of heavy metal levels detected include age, sex, seasonal, and other ecological aspects of the indicator species chosen. Unlike some other species of seabirds, the influence of sex and season on metal levels was unimportant. Copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead were tested in the liver and muscle tissue of fairy prions. In this preliminary study, cadmium levels were found to be significantly higher statistically in fairy prions closest to a potential source of pollution compared to levels from distant locations. This trend was not found in other metals investigated. However, it is suggested that this species would provide a useful future means of monitoring heavy metal levels. |
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