ORIGINAL ARTICLEHeavy metal contaminations and influence on the red-crownedcrane (Grus japonensis) in Wuyur catchments, NortheasternChinaJinming Luo • Yajie Ye • Zhongyan Gao •Yongjie Wang • Wenfeng WangReceived: 23 December 2013/Accepted: 19 October 2014/Published online: 30 October 2014? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014Abstract Five heavy metal concentrations, copper (Cu),zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd), inthe sediments and six typical aquatic animal taxa wereanalyzed to determine the contamination from heavymetals in the habitat of the red-crowned cranes in North-eastern China. The body burden of these metals in thecranes was analyzed to examine the impact of these haz-ards on the rare species. Results indicated that all detectedconcentrations of the five heavy metals in the sedimentswere higher than the natural background levels. Pb and Cdwere the most abundant elements in the sediments, withconcentrations ranging from 9.85 to 129.72 mg kg -1 andfrom 1.23 to 10.63 mg kg -1 (dry weight, dw), respectively.Their absolute fractions were relatively stable phases, i.e.,bound to iron-manganese oxides fraction and bound toorganic matter fraction at 16.28 and 23.23 mg kg -1 for Pband 0.33 mg kg -1 and 3.15 mg kg -1 (dw) for Cd. Sixcommon water animal taxa were found to contain detect-able heavy metal concentrations. The internal tissues of thered-crowned cranes contained significantly high metalconcentrations compared with their external tissues(feather, feces and residual eggshell). Cd concentrations inthe feather and liver of red-crowned cranes exceededa level considered to be potentially toxic in birds, withlevels ranging from 0.41 to 3.06 mg kg -1 and 0.37 to4.42 mg kg -1 (dw), respectively. Similarly, we foundincreased levels of Pb in the both external and internaltissues, with levels ranging from 0.21 to 3.21 mg kg -1 dw,which indicated likely contamination by the metal.Keywords Heavy metal enrichment ? Aquatic animal ?Carcass of red-crowned craneIntroductionSpecial concerns have been raised on the excessive quan-tities of heavy metals and the mechanism by which thesemetals are transferred into aquatic biological circlesbecause of their toxic effects on the ecosystem. Accordingto Daskalakis and O’Connor (1995), sediments are regar-ded as a basin for heavy metals discharged into the aquaticenvironment. Large quantities of heavy metals in aquaticenvironment are often bound to particulate matter anddeposited into sediment (Mart? ´nez-Villegas et al. 2004);however, some fractions can be readily taken up by aquaticplants (e.g., reeds) or deposit-feeding benthic organismsand elevated into the higher strata of the food chain (Fisket al. 2005; Agah et al. 2009). Therefore, the total con-centrations of heavy metals and their fractions in eachphase in sediments should be determined to detect netchange and assess potential toxic risk in an aquatic system.The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is a preciousspecies that is in the danger of extinction. The species hasbeen included in the International Union for Conservationof Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List ofEndangered Species since 2000 (BirdLife International2012). Its population worldwide is very small, with anestimated 2,750 mature individuals. Although the residentpopulation in Japan remains stable (Teraoka et al. 2007),the migratory population in mainland Asia continuallydeclines because of the loss and degradation of wetlandsJ. Luo (&) ? Y. Ye ? Y. WangDepartment of Science, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006,People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: Luojm1000@sina.comZ. Gao ? W. WangZhalong National Natural Reserve, Qiqihar 161002,People’s Republic of China123Environ Earth Sci (2015) 73:5657–5667DOI 10.1007/s12665-014-3820-6
