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- Title
Analysis of Zinc and Copper Content in Selected Tissues and Organs of Wild Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos L.) in Poland.
- Authors
Bombik, Elżbieta; Bombik, Antoni; Pietrzkiewicz, Katarzyna
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Analysis of zinc and copper levels in the tissues of wild animals, including mallard ducks, is important for assessing the degree of contamination of the environment with these elements. This problem is worth addressing with regard to the safety of consumers of game meat. It was concluded from the study that the Leszno hunting district is more polluted than the Siedlce hunting district. The significantly higher average zinc and copper concentrations in the liver of mallards harvested in this hunting district may have been influenced by fertilization of crop fields with fertilizers containing these elements and by extraction of ore containing zinc and copper minerals. Statistically significant differences were also shown in the average level of copper in the leg muscles of males compared to females. The research material included selected muscles and liver of mallard ducks obtained in two research areas. A total of 28 mallards were obtained for the study—six males and six females from the Siedlce hunting district and eight males and eight females from the Leszno hunting district. Zinc and copper concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). It was concluded from the study that the Leszno hunting district is more polluted than the Siedlce hunting district. Among the examined tissues of mallard ducks from both hunting districts, the highest content of zinc and copper was found in the liver. In this organ, birds shot in the Leszno hunting district were characterized by a significantly higher content of these elements compared to birds shot in the Siedlce hunting area. The significantly higher average zinc and copper concentrations in the liver of mallards harvested in this hunting district may have been influenced by fertilization of crop fields in this area with fertilizers containing these elements and by extraction of ore containing zinc and copper minerals in the Legnica-Głogów Copper District. This is an important problem with regard to the safety of consumers of game meat. It was shown that the tissues of male mallards were characterized by higher average levels of zinc and copper than those of females, but the differences were statistically significant only in the case of the average copper content in the leg muscles.
- Subjects
MALLARD; COPPER analysis; INDUCTIVELY coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry; COPPER; FOWLING; AVIAN anatomy; LEG
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2024, Vol 14, Issue 8, p1176
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani14081176