COS 63-5 - Urban Heavy Metal Concentrations May Affect Paridae Survival

Background/Question/Methods

Paridae are easily observable in forests and urban ecosystems, and are climate-sensitive biological indicator species suitable for confirming sensitivity to urban microclimate and developmental environments. In particular, Paridae use moss to form nests, and do not deviate more than 100m to collect moss. Because moss is exposed to urban environments and contains heavy metals, it can be used for local heavy metal pollution monitoring. This study compared the concentration differences of heavy metals lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) according to habitats types of Paridae and evaluated the survival rate of Paridae through monitoring heavy metal contamination using moss. To collect nest samples, a total of 54 artificial nest boxes in different habitat types (29 parks, 11 forests, 14 campus green spaces) were installed in Cheonan, Korea. The collected nests were dried using a dry oven, and heavy metal analysis (lead Pb, zinc Zn) was performed using ICP-OES on moss that did not wither.

Results/Conclusions

Breeding was performed in 25 out of the 54 artificial nest boxes, and 21 (5 urban parks, 7 urban forests, 9 campus green spaces) excluding 4 unsuitable nests were used for analysis. The average lead (Pb) concentration was found to be 12.028 mg/kg in urban parks, 20.884 mg/kg in urban forests, and 18.294 mg/kg in campus green spaces (ANOVA, F(2,18) = 1.016, p = 0.382). The average zinc (Zn) concentration was found to be 149.8 mg/kg in urban parks, 187.057 mg/kg in urban forests, and 303.478 mg/kg in campus green spaces (ANOVA, F(2,18) = 3.167, p< 0.1). The artificial nest boxes did not exceed the heavy metal contamination standard for lead (Pb) or zinc (Zn), there was no average difference in the concentration of heavy metals between the three regions. Looking at the correlation between fledging and heavy metal concentration, lead (Pb; t-test, t = -0.822, p = 0.421) and zinc (Zn; t-test, t = 0.477, p = 0.639) were identified. In urban ecosystems, the creation of artificial nest boxes in various habitat types such as urban parks, campus green areas, and forests help the breeding of Paridae.