Elementos-traço (mercúrio total, selênio e cobre) em penas de pinguins do gênero Pygoscelis da Ilha Rei George, Antártica

• Autor(a) principal: Beloto, Natalia
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UERJ
• Texto Completo: http://www.bdtd.uerj.br/handle/1/13885
• topic: Bioindicators; Antarctic birds; Antarctic Peninsula; Bioindicadores; Aves antárticas; Península Antártica; CNPQ::CIENCIAS EXATAS E DA TERRA::OCEANOGRAFIA::OCEANOGRAFIA BIOLOGICA

This study assessed the magnitude of Antarctic penguins, genus Pygoscelis, exposure to trace elements as total mercury (THg), selenium (Se) and copper (Cu) to check some variations of these elements according to biological characteristics of the animals. To conduct this, breast feathers of Pygoscelis papua (n = 30), P. antarctica (n = 21) and P. adeliae (n = 48) were taken and analysed from seabirds collected from King George Island, Antarctica. Apparently was found lower levels of THg and Se in P. papua than in others penguins species, and this one specie also corresponded to the greater different trace element level found in Pygoscelis penguins. It was found correlation between THg and Se levels for P. antarctica and P. adeliae indicating that it is possible that the penguins can have detoxification process of the organic mercury by selenium, but this could not be confirmed. It is noteworthy that present study is the first to report THg levels in breast feathers of the species P. antarctica, being this information relevant for the understanding and conservation of this species of penguin in Antarctica. Overall, copper (8346/32545 ng / g d.w. min / max) was the element that appeared in higher concentrations compared to selenium (618.7 / 7923.5 ng / g d.w. min / max) and total mercury (114 , 6/1180, 2 ng / g d.w. min / max). These high concentrations of copper in feathers is possibly caused by incorporation through food items of the penguins, that consists mainly of krill. This crustacean also have high concentrations of this essential element. It was observed that all the information reported in this study, such as correlations between trace elements (THg and Se) and biological characteristics, show that the three penguin species follow different patterns of distribution of trace elements, and it is perhaps because they have diet differentiated. Moreover, it seems that the individual characteristics also influence these patterns, and therefore should be evaluated for a better understanding of the distribution of trace elements in these animals. It was observed that the concentrations of non-essential trace element THg apparently not constitute a threat to penguins because it was below the level considered harmful, while selenium is an element that must be constantly monitored because exhibited concentrations close to those considered potentially harmful to birds when incorporated via diet. It was found that the presence of trace elements does not constitute a threat to the health of Pygoscelis from King George Island. Nevertheless, a constant monitoring program is necessary for the region, which is still considered a preserved environment.