Provision of tissue samples from common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from Denmark for chemical residue analysis

Dead female common eider (Somateria mollissima) lying on is back
Female common eider (Somateria mollissima)

Project data  
Project leader: Prof. Prof. h. c. Dr. Ursula Siebert
Scientists: Luca Aroha Schick
Project term: 03.2021-08.2021
Sponsoring: UKSH, Institut für Toxikologie und Pharmakologie für Naturwissenschaftler, Kiel

Samples of bycaught common eiders from the danish Baltic Sea, which undergo post-mortem examinations at the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, are provisioned for toxicological analysis at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel.

At the Institute for Toxicology and Pharmacology for Natural Scientists, organ samples of liver, kidneys, muscle, brain and fat as well as bile are analysed for residues of explosive compounds of dumped munition. These are 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its derivates, which have been detected in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in other studies. The examination of common eider tissues will allow to draw conclusions about possible accumulation in the trophic chain. 

Dead common eider (Somateria mollissima) lying on its back
Male common eider (Somateria mollissima)