Molting feathers and eggshells in monitoring rare bird species populations: Evidence from special protected natural territories

This study was conducted to determine the possibility of using flight feathers and eggshells as bioindicators to assess the levels of accumulated trace elements in the bodies of rare birds. To achieve this goal, concentrations of elements, including toxic heavy metals, were determined in biological samples of the Oriental White Stork. The samples were obtained from nesting areas in the Khabarovsk Krai in specially protected natural areas: the State Nature Reserve "Bolonsky" and the Nature Park "Sheremetevsky" in the Amur River basin. The assessment of pollutant content in the edges and vane of flight feathers and in stork eggshells was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry on ICP-MS Elan 9000. It was found that the analysis of the composition of the edges of molted feathers and eggshells allows to assess the deposition level of trace elements from food chains, which characterizes this non-invasive method of bioindication is non-invasive and holds promise for the ecological monitoring of rare birds.