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Age-dependent accumulation of heavy metals in liver, kidney and lung tissues of homing pigeons in Beijing, China

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Abstract

Biomonitoring provides direct evidence of the bioavailability and accumulation of toxic elements in the environment. In the current study, 1–2, 5–6, and 9–10+ year old homing pigeons collected from the Haidian District of Beijing during 2011 were necropsied and concentrations of cadmium, lead, and mercury were measured in liver, lung, and kidney tissue. At necropsy, gray/black discoloration of the margins of the lungs was observed in 98 % of the pigeons. There were no significant differences in metal concentrations as a function of gender. Cadmium concentrations in all tissues and Pb concentrations in the lung tissues were significantly greater in 9–10+ year old pigeons compared to other age groups indicating that Cd and Pb were bioavailable. Mercury concentrations were not significantly different among age groups. Cadmium concentrations in kidney and lung tissues of 9–10+ year old pigeons were similar to or exceeded concentrations of Cd reported in pigeons from another high traffic urban area and most wild avian species from Korea suggesting that Cd in this region of Beijing may be of concern. Homing pigeons provide valuable exposure and bioaccumulation data not readily available from air monitoring alone, thus providing information regarding potential health effects in wildlife and humans in urban areas. As environmental quality standards are implemented in China, homing pigeons will serve as a valuable bio-monitor of the efficacy of these actions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the key National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41030743), the Science and Technology Innovative Programs Foundation of Higher Education of Heilongjiang Province, China (No. 2010td10). We are grateful to Zhai Dan Lei for her assistance and support of our research. The authors also thank Mr. Xinmin Liu for providing the pigeons from Beijing for our research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Monitoring of Geographic Environment, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Jia Cui, Bin Wu & Shuying Zang

  2. Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University (Emeritus), Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Richard S. Halbrook

Authors
  1. Jia Cui
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  2. Bin Wu
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  3. Richard S. Halbrook
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  4. Shuying Zang
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Correspondence to Shuying Zang.

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Cui, J., Wu, B., Halbrook, R.S. et al. Age-dependent accumulation of heavy metals in liver, kidney and lung tissues of homing pigeons in Beijing, China. Ecotoxicology 22, 1490–1497 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-013-1135-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-013-1135-0

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