Assessment of Mercury contamination in liver and muscle tissue of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) as bioindicators at three locations in Serbia

Damjan Gavrilović; Nikola Borjan; Milenko Babić; Ognjen Krnjaja; Slobodan Dojčinović; Aleksandar Bajčić; Saša Janković

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.2.4

Damjan Gavrilović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3786-496X
Nikola Borjan Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-3755
Milenko Babić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6467-6757
Ognjen Krnjaja Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2242-0457
Slobodan Dojčinović Food Safety Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kneza Višeslava bb, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aleksandar Bajčić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2923-4137
Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.2.4

Keywords: Mercury, mallard, liver, muscle, biomonitoring

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and distribution of mercury (Hg) in the liver and muscle tissue of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) collected from three locations in Serbia. A total of 55 samples were analyzed, including 23 from the Belegiš site, 12 from Pločica, and 20 from Vršački Ritovi. Mercury concentrations were determined using the ICP-MS method. Mercury levels in the liver ranged from 0.009 to 0.239 mg kg⁻¹, while concentrations in muscle tissue ranged from 0.005 to 0.069 mg kg⁻¹. The mean values for liver tissue were 0.097 mg/kg (Belegiš), 0.108 mg/kg (Pločica), and 0.025 mg kg⁻¹ (Vršački Ritovi), whereas for muscle tissue they were 0.030 mg kg⁻¹ (Belegiš and Pločica) and 0.008 mg kg⁻¹ (Vršački Ritovi). Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey post hoc test, Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney test. The findings provide insight into potential differences in mercury contamination levels between different ecosystems, as well as the relationship between different tissues in wild birds.