Monitoring of heavy metal burden in mute swan (Cygnus olor)

Concentrations of heavy metals (especially arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury and lead) were measured in the contour (body) feathers of mute swans (Cygnus olor) and in its nutrients (fragile stonewort [Chara globularis], clasping leaf pondweed [Potamogeton perfoliatus], Eurasian watermilfoil [Myriophyllum spicatum], fennel pondweed [Potamogeton pectinatus]) to investigate the accumulation of metals during the food chain. The samples (17 feathers, 8 plants) were collected at Keszthely Bay of Lake Balaton, Hungary. Dry ashing procedure was used for preparing of sample and the heavy metal concentrations were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Copper (10.24 ± 2.25 mg/kg) and lead (1.11 ± 1.23 mg/kg) were detected the highest level in feathers, generally, the other metals were mostly under the detection limit (0.5 mg/kg). However, the concentrations of the arsenic (3.17 ± 1.87 mg/kg), cadmium (2.41 ± 0.66 mg/kg) and lead (2.42 ± 0.89 mg/kg) in the plants were low but the chromium (198.27 ± 102.21 mg/kg) was detected in high concentration.