Fróðskaparrit - 01.07.2004, Side 75

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Mercury in liver, eggs and feather of black
guillemot Cepphus grylle faeroeensis in the
Faroe Islands
Kyksilvur í livur, eggum og fjøður frá Cepphus grylle faeroeensis í
Føroyum
Maria Dam', Katrin Hoydal’ and Jens-Kjeld Jensen2
1 Food and Environmental Agency, Falkavegur 6, FO-IOO Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. Emails: mariad@hfs.fo;
katrinh@hfs.fo
2 Føroya Náttúrugripasavn, FO-IOO Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. Email: jkjensen@post.olivant.fo
Úrtak
í tíðarskeiðnum 1995-1997 varð eitt størri tal av teisti
tikin til kanningar nær sunnari parti av Streymoy og við
Hestoy. Kanningarskráin fevndi um hvat føði teisti tekur
og innihaldi av umhvørviseitri av ymiskum slagi. í
seinri árum eru eisini egg undan teisti tikin til endamáli
kanningar av umhvørviseitrandi evnum. Hesi egg hava
verið heintaðið á Skúvoy og í Koltri, og eru tey kannað-
ið fyri millum annað kyksilvur og stabilar isotopar av
køvievni og kolevni. Hendan greinin er ein samanstill-
ing av kyksilvur úrslitunum fyri ymiskan vevnað og
aldursbólkar av teisti sum eru íkomin eftir eini røð av
kanningum í ymiskum høpi. Sæð samlað varð funnið
eitt miðalinnihald av kyksilvuri í fjøður og livrum uppá
ávíkavíst 4,72 mg/kg og 1,11 mg/kg í teimum 33 fugl-
unum sum vórðu kannaðir einkultvís, sum gevur eitt
lutfall ímillum hesar uppá 4,2. Stórar individuallar var-
iatiónir vórðu ávístar, serliga millum hannarnar, og tí
var ikki gjørligt at ávísa nakran eftirfarandi mun á kyk-
silvur-innihaldinum millum vaksnar og ungar hannar.
Miðalinnihaldið av kyksilvuri í eggum sum vóru heint-
aði á hesum báðum plássum minkaði úr 0,46 mg/kg í
1999 til 0,32 mg/kg 12001.
Abstracts
During 1995-1997 a large number of black guillemots
from an area near the southern part of Streymoy and
Hestoy were sacrificed in connection with a large study
of the birds’ diet and of pollutants load in the Faroe
Islands. In recent years also black guillemot eggs have
been sampled for the purpose of environmental
monitoring. The eggs have been gathered on Skúvoy
and Koltur and liave been analysed for pollutants such
as mercury as well as for stable isotopes of nitrogen and
carbon. The present article is a synthesis of the mercury
data gathered in these projects studying mercury in
various black guillemot tissues and age classes. The
overall mean feather and liver mercury concentrations
in 33 individually analysed birds was 4,72 mg/kg and
1,11 mg/kg respectively, thus with a ratio between them
of 4,2. There were large individual variations especially
among the males, but significant differences in liver
mercury concentration between adult and juveniles
could not be discemed. The mercury concentration in
eggs sampled at both locations decreased from an
average of 0,46 mg/kg in 1999 to 0,32 mg/kg in 2001.
Introduction
During recent years a suite of species in-
habitating the Faroese coastal environmen-
tal has been investigated for use in regular
monitoring of pollutants. The pollutants in
focus have been heavy metals such as mer-
cury, lead and cadmium, and manmade pol-
lutants such as PCB and pesticides or
Fróðskaparrit 52. bók 2004: 73-84