medical and biological sciences - Collegium Medicum - Uniwersytet ...

Chemical elements in the blood of White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks in differentiated regions of Poland 33Zielona Góra (51°56'26,1'' N, 15°30'38,9'' E; SW Poland),and treated as suburbs, and near Głogów(51°39'32,6'' N, 16°04'49,9'' E; SW Poland), where acopper smelter is situated, with copper manufacture. Itproduced copper and lead from lead fields. Głogówplant copper leads an active proecological activity.Green fields constitute about 50% of protective areasof this manufacture complex. The forests present 32%of this area. Acid soils are subjected by calcification.One of numerous proecological ventures of the manufacturewas desulphuring installation and modernize ofsulphur acid manufacture. These innovations havecontributed towards rapid decrease of sulphur dioxide.Now the process of modernization of lead departmentis continued. We have also conduct our research inCecenowo, a small and relatively pure Pomeranianvillage near Słupsk (N Poland; 54°38'34,5'' N,17°32'31'' S).MATERIAL AND METHODSIn total 91 White Stork chicks from 33 nests weresurveyed in 2006. The age of birds varied from 19 upto 54 days after hatching. For elimination of diurnalrhythm changes all examinations were started at 10 andended at 12 am. Samples of investigated wing venousblood were taken for analyses of chemical elementconcentration. The content of elements was then determinedwith use of Perkin-Elmer atomic absorptionspectrophotometer [12]. Standard curves were preparedusing standardized Merck samples. Concentration ofelements were given in terms of µg*g -1 d.w. (ppm). Wecollected blood samples via veni-puncture of the brachialvein of stork chicks. They were retrieved fromthe nest and placed into individual ventilated cottonsacks. Blood (5 ml) was collected using 5 ml syringewashed up with EDTA. Samples were kept in a chilledcooler before transporting to the laboratory. After centrifugation,plasma samples were frozen at -20 o C andstored until analysis. Our behavioral observations aswell as physical examinations of the birds suggestedthat all of them were physically healthy.Statistical Analysis. The results are expressed asmean ± S.D. Significant differences among the meanswere measured using a multiple range test at min.P