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Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) as Biological Indicator for Environmental Pollution in Hungary

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Abstract

Our aim were to establish the metal (Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, Cd, and Pb) levels of red fox liver and the kidney samples (n = 10) deriving from central part of Hungary and compare the results with other countries’ data. According to our results the concentrations of residues of the targeted elements (mg/kg dry weight) in liver and kidney samples were, respectively in liver: Cu: 21.418, Zn: 156.928, Ni: 2.079, Co: 1.611, Pb: 1.678 and Cd: 0.499; and kidney samples: Cu: 9.236; Zn: 87.159; Ni: 2.514; Co: 2.455; Pb: 2.63 and Cd: 0.818. Pb levels of Hungarian red fox liver samples significantly exceed the values of Italian specimens’ samples, whilst the same element’s concentrations of Hungarian red fox kidney samples were higher than the results published in Germany.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments as well as Judit Galló and Ferenc Markolt for the language revision of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Department of Game Management and Fishery of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Wildlife Conservation, Szent István University, Páter K. u. 1, 2100, Gödöllő, Hungary

    Miklós Heltai

  2. Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bul. “Tzar Osvobiditel” No. 1, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Georgi Markov

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  1. Miklós Heltai
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  2. Georgi Markov
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Correspondence to Miklós Heltai.

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Heltai, M., Markov, G. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758) as Biological Indicator for Environmental Pollution in Hungary. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 89, 910–914 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0755-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0755-z

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