Cove during the chick-rearing period, from 1 January to 9 February, 1991. ... Pb(0.3 1 ) > Hg(0.18) for the liver, and Fe(280) >Zn(29.8) >Cd (14.7) >Cu(3.5) >.
Proc. NIPR Symp. Polar Biol., 9, 253-262, 1996
COMPARISON O F TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS I N TISSUES O F THE CHICK AND ADULT ADELIE PENGUINS Yoshikazu YAMAMOTO', Satoko KANESAKI', Toshiaki KURAMOCHI~, Nobuyuki MIYAZAKI', Yutaka WATANUKI~ and Yasuhiko NAITO~ 'Kobe College, 4-1, Ohdayama, Nishinomiya 662 'Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 5 3 , Saiwai-cho 3-chome, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 183 'Otsuchi Marine Research Center, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 106-1, Otsuchi-cho 2-chome, Zwate 028-1 1 'Department of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9, Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060 5NationalInstitute of Polar Research, 9-10, Kaga 1-chome, Ztabashi-ku, Tokyo 173 Abstract: T o improve knowledge o f heavy metals accumulated in Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), concentrations o f Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg, Pb, Se, Mn and Fe were measured in livers, kidneys, muscles, skin and feathers collected from 12 chicks and 1 1 adult penguins which were captured at breeding sites at Cape Hinode and in Hukuro Cove during the chick-rearing period, from 1 January to 9 February, 1991. Antarctic krills (Euphausia superba) collected from the stomach content o f adult penguins were also analyzed. Higher concentrations o f heavy metals were found in the liver and kidney than in other tissues. The average trace element concentrations o f adult penguins were in the order Fe(635 pg/g wet) >Zn(29.3) >Cu(6.4) >Mn(2.1) >Cd(1.9) >Se(1.4) > Pb(0.3 1 ) > Hg(0.18) for the liver, and Fe(280) >Zn(29.8) >Cd (14.7) >Cu(3.5) > Se(2.7) > Mn(1.2) > Hg(0.16) > Pb(0.13) for the kidney. Cadmium and Hg concentrations in the liver, kidney, muscle and skin o f Adklie penguins increased with growth; this fact suggests that Cd and Hg were accumulated in the body through food. The Fe concentrations o f adults were significantly higher in both pectoral and femoral muscles than those o f the chicks (t-test, p#
0;
2000 4000 Body Wt (g) 4-
m
2i00 4000 Body Wt (g) 0.03Skin
O
O
(5)
+
2000 4000 Body Wt (g) Feather
0.01
(6)
I
o
2000 4000 Body Wt(g)
2000 4000 Body Wt (g)
Fig. 4.
Relationships between body weight and Hg concentration in the tissues of Adklie penguins. 0 , chick; 0, adult. (1)Y=0.036Xl.0003x;r=0.491;p Cd > Pb > Hg. Although there is a slight difference in the order of elements, their values for Zn, Cu, Mn and Cd were nearly close to those found in the present study. But the values for Fe and Pb were considerably
3.4.
26 1
Trace Element Concentrations in Adklie Penguins Table 4.
Comparison of trace element concentrations (mean, M / g wet) between the 1981 and 1991 samples of adult Addie penguins and Antarctic krills.
Samples Liver Kidney Muscle Pectoral Femoral Skin Feather Krill
Year
Fe
Mn
Zn
Cu
Cd
1981* 1991** 1981* 1991**
733 635 220 280
2.19 2.08 1.60 1.21
47.8 29.3 48.5 29.8
4.70 6.40 3.60 3.52
3.85 1.90 51.0 14.7
1981* 1991" 1981* 1991** 1981* 1991** 1981* 1991"
185 298 82 140 31 107 23 44
0.31 0.23 0.29 0.19 0.41 N. D. 0.69 N. D.
11.2 15.4 37.5 30.9 27.2 23.2 78.2 75.0
2.70 2.41 2.75 2.53 1.45 0.60 12.9 14.0
0.71 1.30
9.6 19.2
12.7 13.2
1986*** 1991**
3.6 29
Hg
Pb
0.060 0.175 0.061 0.158
