Teeth of the red fox Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758) as a bioindicator in studies on fluoride pollution

An examination was made of fluoride content in the mandibular first molars of the permanent teeth of the red fox Vulpes vulpes living in north-west (NW) Poland. The teeth were first dried to a constant weight at 105°C and then ashed. Fluorides were determined potentiometrically, and their concentrations were expressed in dry weight (DW) and ash. The results were used to perform an indirect estimation of fluoride pollution in the examined region of Poland. The collected specimens (n = 35) were classified into one of the three age categories: immature (im, 6–12 months), subadult (subad, from 12 to 20 months) and adult (ad, >20 months). The mean concentrations (geometric mean) of fluoride were similar in the im and subad groups (230 and 296 mg/kg DW and 297 and 385 mg/kg ash, respectively), and significantly smaller than in the ad group (504 and 654 mg/kg, respectively, in DW and ash). Basing on other reports that the ∼400 mg/kg DW concentration of fluoride in bones in the long-lived wild mammals generally reflects the geochemical background, it was found that 57% of the foxes in NW Poland exceeded this value by 9% to 170%. This indirectly reflects a moderate fluoride contamination in the tested region

Red Fox Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758) as a Bioindicator of Mercury Contamination in Terrestrial Ecosystems of North-Western Poland

In this study, we determined the concentrations of total mercury (Hg) in samples of liver, kidney and skeletal muscle of 27 red foxes Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758) from north-western Poland, and examined the morphometric characteristics of the collected specimens. The analysis also included the relationship between Hg concentration and the fox size, and the suitability of individual organs as bioindicators in indirect evaluation of environmental mercury contamination. Determination of Hg concentration was performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. In the analysed samples, the Hg concentration was low and the maximum value did not exceed 0.85 mgHg/kg dry weight (dw). There were no significant differences in Hg concentrations in the analysed material between males and females or between immature and adult groups. The median concentrations of Hg in the liver, kidney and skeletal muscle were 0.22, 0.11 and 0.05 mgHg/kg dw, respectively. The correlation coefficients were significant between the concentrations of mercury in the liver, kidney and skeletal muscle (positive) and between the kidney Hg concentration and kidney mass (negative). Taking into account our results and findings of other authors, it may be argued that the red fox exhibits a measurable response to mercury environmental pollution and meets the requirements of a bioindicator

Cloacotaenia megalops (Nitzsch in Creplin, 1829) (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae) u dzikich kaczek Pomorza Zachodniego

Cloacotaenia megalops (Nitzsch in Creplin, 1892) is a polyxenic and cosmopolitan tapeworm from the family Hymenolepididae. Its generic name derives from their typical location (cloaca), and the typical final hosts which are birds typically associated with water and marsh environments: Anseriformes, Galliformes and Gruiformes. In Poland, the presence of C. megalops has been observed so far in 16 species of ducks from the Baltic coast, the Mazurian Lake District, Wielkopolsko-Kujawska Lowland, Mazovian Lowland, and Podlasie Lowland. In Western Pomerania, quantitative structure analyses were only carried out on Anas platyrhynchos, and therefore the aim of this study was the detailed analysis of environmental populations of C. megalops in wild ducks. The examined tapeworms were isolated from the digestive tract of 1005 wild ducks representing 17 species belonging to three different eco-tribes: Anatini (n=225), Aythyini (n=413) and Mergini (n=367), from northwestern Poland. During the study 187 C. megalops were found in 89 birds (8.8% of examined ducks) belonging to 7 species: Anas crecca (common teal), A. querquedula (garganey), A. platyrhynchos (mallard) (Anatini); Aythya ferina (pochard), A. fuligula (tufted duck), A. marila (greater scaup) (Aythyini) and Bucephala clangula (goldeneye) (Mergini). The results show the differences in the quantitative structure of C. megalops among the examined species of ducks. The highest prevalence was found in mallard (18.6%) and the lowest in greater scaup (3.2%). The highest mean intensity was observed in greater scaup (4.0), and the lowest in garganey and common teal (1.0). Relative density was at a similar level in the tested birds. Based on the ratio of dominance, it was found that C. megalops is a rare species in the cestodofauna in the examined birds

First record of Microsomacanthus tuvensis Spasskaya et Spasskii, 1961 [Cestoda, Hymenolepididae] in Poland

During standard parasitological studies of the tufted duck Aythya fuligula, obtained from fishermen from West Pomerania in December 2007, three cestode specimens were found in the jejunum of one male host. They were determinated as Microsomacanthus tuvensis (Spasskaya et Spasskii, 1961) on the basis of the cirrus’s and cirrus sac’s size and vagina’s shape. This is the first record of this species in Poland

Acarological faunistic and statistical analysis of dust from various compartments of human dwellings in north-western Poland

The aim of this paper was to compare the species composition of mites in dust samples collected at different compartments of human dwellings of north-western (NW) Poland. In 30 urban apartments (Szczecin, Police, Pyrzyce and Łobez) and rural quarters (Przelewice, Brzesko Szczecińskie, Bylice, Krasne, Kąkolewice, Wierzchowo, Przeradz, Kłodzino) from NW Poland, 150 samples of dust were collected at 5 locations: bed area, bedroom carpet, sitting area in the living room, hall carpet, and kitchen floor. Mites were isolated using Berlese-Tüllgren extractors. The isolated dust mites belonged to the order Astigmata, families Pyroglyphidae: Dermatophagoides farinae Hughes, 1961, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Trouessart, 1987), Euroglyphus maynei (Cooreman, 1950) and Hirstia Hull, 1931; Chortoglyphidae: Chortoglyphus arcuatus (Troupeau, 1879) and Glycyphagidae: Gohieria fusca (Oudemans, 1902), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank, 1781), and the order Prostigmata, family Cheyletidae: Cheyletus (Latreille, 1796). The most frequently observed were the species D. farinae (58.9%) and the representatives of the genus Cheyletus (30.6%). Statistically significant differences were found between: the number and concentration of D. farinae in the dust collected from beds in the bedroom and dust from the carpet in the bedroom, living room, hall and kitchen; the number of D. farinae in samples from the carpet in the bedroom and from the kitchen floor; the number and concentration of D. farinae in the dust from the living room and the dust in the hall and kitchen; the number of Cheyletus sp. in samples of dust from bed areas in the bedroom and the samples from the carpet in the bedroom, hall and kitchen; the number and concentration of Cheyletus sp. in dust samples collected from the carpet in the bedroom and samples from the kitchen; the concentration of Cheyletus sp. in dust collected from bed areas and samples from the floor in the hall and kitchen; the number of D. pteronyssinus in dust samples collected from bed areas in the bedroom and samples from the carpet in the bedroom. In conclusion, the number of mites D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus and Cheyletus sp. depended on the place where the mites were sampled. The greatest numbers of these species were observed in the bed areas in bedrooms. The tests confirmed the high occurrence of house dust mites in the apartments in north-western Poland, especially in the bed areas in the bedroom