Introduction
Region | Arable land | Pastures | Artificial surfaces | Forests | Water bodies | Wetlands |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | 38.5 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 36.6 | 7.3 | 0.8 |
S | 40.6 | 9.6 | 3.4 | 34.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
χ
2 test | 4.42 | 37.69 | 15.32 | 7.38 | 353.62 | 0.01 |
P
| 0.03 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 | 0.007 | <0.0001 | 0.93 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Origin of the studied birds
Laboratory analyses
Element | Linearity correlation r
| LOD (mg L−1) | Recovery (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Ca | 0.9986 | 0.002 | 107 |
Cd | 0.9999 | 0.001 | 98 |
Cr | 0.9998 | 0.002 | 97 |
Cu | 0.9999 | 0.002 | 103 |
Fe | 0.9999 | 0.012 | 111 |
Hg | 0.9997 | 0.052 | 93 |
K | 0.9995 | 0.120 | 105 |
Mg | 0.9982 | 0.005 | 109 |
Mn | 0.9998 | 0.002 | 96 |
Na | 0.9982 | 0.005 | 103 |
Pb | 0.9999 | 0.008 | 97 |
S | 0.9985 | 0.004 | 106 |
Sc | 0.9998 | 0.002 | 99 |
Se | 0.9999 | 0.011 | 94 |
Sr | 0.9998 | 0.003 | 97 |
V | 0.9999 | 0.003 | 95 |
Zn | 0.9998 | 0.010 | 103 |
Statistical analyses
Results
Concentrations and possible sources of elements
Element | Concentration level (mg kg−1 dw) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Background | Subclinical toxicity | Moderate clinical poisoning | Acute clinical poisoning | |
Pb | ||||
Reference values | 0–6 (A) | 6–20 (B) | 20–30 (B) | >30 (A,B) |
Frequency in livers of white-tailed eagles | 63.6% | 4.6% | – | 31.8% |
Cd | ||||
Reference values | 0–3.0 (C) | >3.0 (C) | – | – |
Frequency in livers of white-tailed eagles | 100.0% | – | – | – |
Hg | ||||
Reference values | 0–6.7 (D) | > 6.7 (D) | – | >67.0 (D) |
Frequency in livers of white-tailed eagles | 100.0% | – | – | – |
Element | K | S | Na | Ca | Sc | Cd | Cr | Cu | Fe | Hg | Mg | Mn | Pb | Se | Sr | V | Zn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
K | 1.00 |
0.51
| 0.25 | −0.04 | 0.00 |
0.70
|
0.55
| −0.08 |
0.74
| 0.05 |
0.75
|
0.58
|
0.60
| −0.69
| 0.31 | 0.40 |
0.62
|
S |
0.51
| 1.00 | 0.39 | 0.16 | 0.25 | 0.18 | 0.16 | 0.38 |
0.43
| 0.37 |
0.56
|
0.57
|
0.46
| −0.65
| 0.21 | 0.38 | 0.28 |
Na | 0.25 | 0.39 | 1.00 | −0.53
| 0.24 | 0.01 | −0.02 | 0.37 | 0.39 | 0.04 | 0.26 | 0.31 | 0.40 | −0.12 | −0.29 | 0.38 | 0.10 |
Ca | −0.04 | 0.16 | −0.53
| 1.00 | −0.25 | 0.34 | 0.07 | −0.49 | 0.03 | −0.06 | −0.08 | −0.32 | 0.08 | −0.46 |
0.72
| 0.15 | 0.26 |
Sc | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0.24 | −0.25 | 1.00 | −0.14 | 0.03 | 0.24 | −0.08 | 0.13 | 0.08 |
0.43
| −0.11 | 0.06 | −0.25 | −0.19 | −0.21 |
Cd |
0.70
| 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.34 | −0.14 | 1.00 |
0.58
| −0.52
|
0.79
| 0.01 |
0.56
| 0.26 |
0.64
| −0.62
|
0.66
| 0.27 |
0.75
|
Cr |
0.55
| 0.16 | −0.02 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
0.58
| 1.00 | 0.13 |
0.60
| 0.01 |
0.81
| 0.34 | 0.41 | −0.37 |
0.58
| 0.09 |
0.71
|
Cu | −0.08 | 0.38 | 0.37 | −0.49
| 0.24 | −0.52
| 0.13 | 1.00 | −0.05 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.37 | −0.13 | 0.19 | −0.32 | −0.11 | −0.07 |
Fe |
0.74
| 0.43 | 0.39 | 0.03 | −0.08 |
0.79
|
0.60
| −0.05 | 1.00 | 0.14 |
0.69
| 0.33 |
0.81
| −0.58
|
0.45
| 0.29 |
0.80
|
Hg | 0.05 | 0.37 | 0.04 | −0.06 | 0.13 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.27 | 0.14 | 1.00 | 0.19 | 0.41 | 0.46 | −0.06 | −0.02 | −0.47 | −0.21 |
Mg |
0.75
|
0.56
| 0.26 | −0.08 | 0.08 |
0.56
|
0.81
| 0.29 |
0.69
| 0.19 | 1.00 |
0.66
|
0.56
| −0.54
|
0.43
| 0.29 | 0.64 |
Mn |
0.58
|
0.57
| 0.31 | −0.32 |
0.43
| 0.26 | 0.34 | 0.37 | 0.33 | 0.41 |
0.66
| 1.00 | 0.33 | −0.41 | −0.10 | 0.05 | 0.12 |
Pb |
0.60
|
0.46
| 0.40 | 0.08 | −0.11 |
0.64
| 0.41 | −0.13 |
0.81
|
0.46
|
0.56
| 0.33 | 1.00 | −0.64
| 0.30 | 0.18 |
0.42
|
Se | −0.69
| −0.65
| −0.12 | −0.46
| 0.06 | −0.62
| −0.37 | 0.19 | −0.58
| −0.06 | −0.54
| −0.41 | −0.64
| 1.00 | −0.46
| −0.48
| −0.52
|
Sr | 0.31 | 0.21 | −0.29 |
0.72
| −0.25 |
0.66
|
0.58
| −0.32 |
0.45
| −0.02 |
0.43
| −0.10 | 0.30 | −0.46
| 1.00 | 0.21 |
0.70
|
V | 0.40 | 0.38 | 0.38 | 0.15 | −0.19 | 0.27 | 0.09 | −0.11 | 0.29 | −0.47
| 0.29 | 0.05 | 0.18 | −0.48
| 0.21 | 1.00 |
0.45
|
Zn |
0.62
| 0.28 | 0.10 | 0.26 | −0.21 |
0.75
|
0.71
| −0.07 |
0.80
| −0.21 |
0.64
| 0.12 | 0.42 | −0.52 |
0.70
|
0.45
| 1.00 |
Element | Axis 1 | Axis 2 |
---|---|---|
K | 0.07 | −0.03 |
S | 0.03 | −0.02 |
Na | 0.01 | −0.01 |
Ca | 0.02 | 0.13 |
Sc | −0.01 | −0.08 |
Cd | 0.15 | 0.27 |
Cr | 0.03 | 0.15 |
Cu | 0.00 | −0.18 |
Fe | 0.27 | 0.13 |
Hg | 0.18 | −0.79
|
Mg | 0.07 | 0.02 |
Mn | 0.08 | −0.09 |
Pb |
0.91
| −0.01 |
Se | −0.11 | −0.16 |
Sr | 0.09 | 0.29 |
V | 0.05 | 0.18 |
Zn | 0.09 | 0.23 |
Eigen values | 7.5 | 1.6 |
Total variance explained (%) | 69.3 | 15.0 |
Intergroup differences
Element | Immatures (N = 7) | Adults (N = 15) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Min | Max | Mean | SD | Min | Max | |
Ca | 253.4* | 125.9 | 132.0 | 471.3 | 397.6* | 275.2 | 224.6 | 1075.9 |
Cd | 0.16*** | 0.04 | 0.13 | 0.24 | 0.53*** | 0.14 | 0.19 | 0.70 |
Cr | 0.27 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.32 | 0.44 | 0.28 | 0.22 | 1.20 |
Cu | 23.0*** | 6.6 | 13.1 | 31.8 | 13.1*** | 4.9 | 6.3 | 20.0 |
Fep
| 1466.5** | 175.4 | 1325.3 | 1846.0 | 4920.5** | 3534.4 | 1118.0 | 11 841.2 |
Hg | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 4.7 |
K | 8232.1 | 637.7 | 7278.2 | 9052.7 | 9612.2 | 2827.8 | 2419.9 | 12 550.0 |
Mg | 625.6 | 63.8 | 544.1 | 706.1 | 754.5 | 199.8 | 502.6 | 1019.7 |
Mn | 9.6 | 2.8 | 5.1 | 12.8 | 11.4 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 18.5 |
Na | 3874.3 | 225.4 | 3516.7 | 4139.6 | 3871.1 | 351.1 | 3462.3 | 4613.6 |
Pb | 1.3** | 1.9 | 0.1 | 5.5 | 48.7** | 63.6 | 0.4 | 188.6 |
S | 9234.7 | 885.3 | 7886.0 | 10 023.0 | 8712.4 | 1395.0 | 7116.7 | 10 960.0 |
Sc | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
Se | 5.2** | 2.6 | 2.6 | 9.1 | 3.2** | 1.1 | 1.6 | 5.2 |
Sr | 0.20 | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.32 | 0.37 | 0.21 | 0.11 | 0.69 |
V | 0.20 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.33 | 0.18 | 0.072 | 0.08 | 0.32 |
Zn | 116.3* | 34.4 | 69.7 | 159.4 | 183.0* | 73.0 | 71.3 | 301.5 |
Regional differences in element concentrations
Element | Region N (N = 14) | Region S (N = 8) | Mann–Whitney test | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Median | Min | Max | Median | Min | Max |
U
|
P
| |
K | 10 291.4 | 2419.9 | 12 550.0 | 7914.9 | 6485.8 | 10 216.7 | 22.0 |
0.022
|
S | 9625.8 | 7219.3 | 10 960.0 | 7907.5 | 7116.7 | 9793.3 | 26.0 |
0.044
|
Na | 3833.5 | 3545.3 | 4406.0 | 3761.8 | 3462.3 | 4613.6 | 46.0 | 0.517 |
Ca | 288.8 | 178.1 | 1017.7 | 243.1 | 132.0 | 1075.9 | 37.0 | 0.207 |
Sc | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 52.5 | 0.779 |
Cd | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 16.5 |
0.008
|
Cr | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 32.5 | 0.116 |
Cu | 15.3 | 6.6 | 28.2 | 17.8 | 6.3 | 31.8 | 44.0 | 0.433 |
Fe | 5003.2 | 1118.0 | 11 841.2 | 1466.5 | 1175.3 | 3049.0 | 22.0 |
0.022
|
Hg | 0.9 | 0.1 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 5.5 | 49.5 | 0.682 |
Mg | 766.0 | 533.4 | 1019.7 | 564.1 | 502.6 | 743.6 | 21.0 |
0.019
|
Pb | 36.9 | 0.1 | 188.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 28.0 | 0.061 |
Mn | 10.2 | 5.1 | 18.5 | 8.2 | 6.0 | 12.6 | 38.0 | 0.232 |
Se | 2.9 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 9.1 | 15.0 |
0.006
|
Sr | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 38.0 |
0.034
|
V | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 24.5 | 0.231 |
Zn | 170.2 | 72.0 | 301.5 | 95.1 | 69.7 | 252.8 | 24.0 |
0.032
|