1. Combined effects of experimental heavy-metal contamination (Cu, Zn, and CH3Hg) and starvation on quail's body condition: parallelism with a wild common guillemot (Uria aalge) population found stranded at the Belgian coast.
- Author
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Debacker V, Rutten A, Jauniaux T, Daemers C, and Bouquegneau JM
- Subjects
- Animals, Animals, Wild anatomy & histology, Animals, Wild metabolism, Belgium, Bird Diseases metabolism, Bird Diseases pathology, Birds metabolism, Copper metabolism, Copper toxicity, Coturnix metabolism, Food Contamination, Kidney drug effects, Kidney metabolism, Kidney pathology, Liver drug effects, Liver metabolism, Liver pathology, Male, Mercury metabolism, Mercury toxicity, Metals, Heavy metabolism, Muscles drug effects, Muscles metabolism, Muscles pathology, Organ Size drug effects, Starvation metabolism, Starvation pathology, Starvation veterinary, Zinc metabolism, Zinc toxicity, Birds anatomy & histology, Coturnix anatomy & histology, Metals, Heavy toxicity
- Abstract
Combined effects of heavy-metal contamination (Cu, Zn, and CH3Hg) and starvation were tested on common quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and used as a model for comparison with a wild common guillemot (Uria aalge) population found stranded at the Belgian coast. Appropriate heavy-metal levels were given to the quails to obtain concentrations similar to those found in the seabirds's tissues. The contaminated animals were then starved for 4 d to simulate the evident malnutrition symptoms observed at the guillemot's level. In such conditions, food intake and total-body weight are shown to decrease in contaminated individuals with simultaneous significant hepatic and renal increase of the heavy-metal concentrations. Like guillemots, higher heavy-metal levels were observed in those contam- inated quails that had also developed a cachectic status characterized by a general atrophy of their pectoral muscle and complete absence of subcutaneous and/or abdominal fat depots. Although likely the result of a general protein catabolism during starvation, it is suggested that these higher metal levels could as well enhance a general muscle wasting process (cachectic status).
- Published
- 2001
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