The press service of the World Wildlife Fund reported that with the support of the organization, specialists from the Khingan State Reserve, the public organization "Amur Social and Ecological Union" and the Far Eastern State Agrarian University conducted a study to assess the negative impact of agricultural chemicals on cranes and storks.
Research work was carried out in the south of the Zeya-Bureya Plain and on the Khingan-Arkharinskaya Lowland in the Amur Region. These are the largest agricultural regions of the region and the Far East of Russia as a whole, and at the same time are key breeding grounds for the Far Eastern stork, Japanese and white-naped cranes.
In spring and autumn, scientists took dozens of samples of water and bottom sediments in reservoirs where cranes and storks feed. They also collected samples of their food items and discovered biomaterial - egg shells, feathers, blood, muscle and bone tissue of dead birds.
The samples were studied for the content of heavy metals, which are part of agricultural chemistry, phosphates and nitrites, as well as the oxygen content in water samples. The analyzes showed that in terms of water and bird food samples taken from small reservoirs located near agricultural lands, there is an excess of the maximum permissible concentrations of such heavy metals as mercury and lead.
In addition, high levels of mercury, cadmium and arsenic were found in stork chicks. Scientists measured the weight and dimensions of the body, paws, beak and wings of the chicks. As a result, they concluded that the high content of heavy metals in feathers leads to a decrease in the weight and body size of the chicks.
According to scientists, the source of pollution of water bodies, through which heavy metals enter the body of birds, is most likely the active use of fertilizers and pesticides in the cultivation of soybeans and other crops.
The press service of the foundation emphasized that next year the work on studying the migration of chemistry in the food chains of birds will be continued. The scientists plan to evaluate other factors affecting the impact of agricultural activities on protected bird species.
"This will make it possible to develop recommendations for agricultural producers on conducting activities in the habitats of cranes and storks, to formulate proposals for the creation of zones with special conditions for use in key areas, as well as the implementation of other measures aimed at reducing the negative impact on rare birds," the fund said.
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