Heavy Metal Concentrations in Three Albatross Species

AU_AADC research quantified cadmium and mercury loads in tissues of 64 individual albatrosses from three species, collected as by-catch between 1991 and 1994. The dataset includes measurements from liver and kidney samples, as well as 33 shy albatross eggs. Analysis covers variations by species, age class, and sex.

Use Cases

• Compare mean mercury concentrations in adult liver tissue across wandering, royal, and shy albatross species.
• Analyze the relationship between age class (immature vs. adult) and cadmium concentration in kidney samples.
• Investigate sex-based differences in mercury loads, particularly in adult female wandering albatrosses.
• Model pollutant transfer by examining very low mercury concentrations in shy albatross egg samples.

Strengths

• Includes measurements from 64 individual birds across three distinct albatross species.
• Provides tissue-specific concentration data (e.g., liver, kidney) with reported means and standard deviations.
• Covers two major pollutants (cadmium and mercury) with data spanning a 4-year collection period.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 64 individuals, with uneven distribution across species (e.g., only 9 royal albatrosses).
• Data is temporally stale, collected from 1991 to 1994, and may not reflect current pollutant levels.
• Published abstract contains a significant unit error (milligrams vs. micrograms) for shy albatross mercury concentrations.

Provenance

Source

AU_AADC (Australian Antarctic Data Centre).

Collection Method

Birds were collected as by-catch in longline fishing activities; tissues and eggs were analyzed for heavy metal concentrations.

Time Range

1991 to 1994.

Freshness

null

Geography

Antarctic region (specific collection locations not detailed).