To study total mercury concentration ([Hg]) in organ tissues and feathers, 13 carcasses of adult Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris were collected at the breeding colony on Kabushima (Kabu Island), western Pacific Ocean, at the northern-most point of Japan's Sanriku Coast. [Hg] in liver (10.7±6.5 µg/g dry weight±S.D. and 3.2±2.1 µg/g wet weight±S.D.), kidney (6.7±4.8 and 1.8±1.3), breast muscle (3.3±2.3 and 1.0±0.3), heart (4.5±3.0 and 1.1±0.7) and brain (2.8±2.3 and 0.7±0.6) were 2.6–12.5 times higher than in previous studies of the same species. The order of [Hg] concentrations in Black-tailed Gull feather tracts was: inner primaries (P1–P5, 11.2±4.9 µg/g dry weight±S.D)>breast feathers (6.5±2.0)>secondaries (S1–S15, 2.8±1.9)>outer primaries (P6–P10, 2.5±1.9)>rectrices (R1–R6, 1.6±1.4).
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2018
Mercury Contents of the Tissues and Feathers of Black-Tailed Gulls on Kabushima (Kabu Island), Aomori, Japan
Ryota Goto,
Takeshi Ohura,
Yuichi Mizutani,
Yasuaki Niizuma
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
<
Previous Article
|
![](/ContentImages/journals/jorn/17/1/1/WebImages/048.017.0100.cover.jpg)
Ornithological Science
Vol. 17 • No. 1
January 2018
Vol. 17 • No. 1
January 2018
Larus crassirostris
Sanriku coast
top predator
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry