White Stork ( Ciconia ciconia ) Nestlings Affected by Agricultural Practices? Assessment of Integrated Biomarker Responses

Dora Bjedov, Mirna Velki, Lucija Sara Kovačić, Lidija Begović, Ivan Lešić, Luka Jurinović, Tibor Mikuska, Mirta Sudarić Bogojević, Sandra Ečimović and Alma Mikuška ()
Additional contact information
Dora Bjedov: Croatian Institute for Biodiversity, BIOTA Ltd., Maksimirska Cesta 129/5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Mirna Velki: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Lucija Sara Kovačić: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Lidija Begović: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Ivan Lešić: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Luka Jurinović: Poultry Centre, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tibor Mikuska: Croatian Society for Birds and Nature Protection, Ivana Gundulića 19/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Mirta Sudarić Bogojević: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Sandra Ečimović: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Alma Mikuška: Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Cara Hadrijana 8/A, 31000 Osijek, Croatia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The present study assessed the effect of agricultural practices on biomarker response in white stork ( Ciconia ciconia ) nestlings from continental Croatia. During the breeding season of 2022, blood was sampled ( n = 54) from the landfill Jakuševec and the agricultural areas Baranja and Srijem. Different patterns of biomarker response in regard to the sampling site were detected. Results demonstrate the presence of inhibitory pollutants from the landfill Jakuševec and agricultural area Baranja, which is reflected in lower cholinesterase (ChE) activity. Oxidative stress biomarkers show different responses concerning study sites. Glutathione reductase (GR) activity was higher in Baranja and Srijem, suggesting a different mixture of pollutants inducing an antioxidative response. Leachate from the landfill Jakuševec is suspected to affect the white stork nestlings by elevating the concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS). An environmental combination of pollutants appears to induce oxidative stress in white stork nestlings. In addition to agricultural practices, white stork nestlings may also be under environmental pressure from the surrounding pollution. Further research is warranted to include additional chemical analysis to associate the environmental concentrations with the potential adverse effects in apex predators, such as the white stork.

Keywords: blood; esterases; oxidative stress; birds; apex predator; pollution impact; agrochemicals; landfill (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/1045/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/1045/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:5:p:1045-:d:1145469

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().