| Summary: | The concentration of human activities in the near-shore ecosystems from the northern Antarctic Peninsula area can cause an increasing bioavailability of pollutants for the vulnerable Antarctic biota. Penguin chicks can reflect this potential impact in the rookeries during the breeding season. They also can reflect biomagnification phenomena since they are on the top of the Antarctic food chain. The concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were measured by ICP-MS in samples of liver, kidney, muscle, bone, feather and stomach content of gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguin chicks (n = 15 individuals) collected opportunistically in the Islands of King George and Deception (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). The detected levels of some trace elements were not as low as it could be expected in the isolated Antarctic region . Penguin chicks can be useful indicators of trace elements abundance in the study areas. Capsule: Carcasses of Antarctic penguin chicks were used to evaluate the 27 bioavailability of trace elements in the Islands of King George and Deception Fil: Jerez, Silvia. Universidad de Murcia; España Fil: Motas, Miguel. Universidad de Murcia; España Fil: Benzal, Jesús. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas; España Fil: Diaz, Julia Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina Fil: Barbosa, Andrés. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas; España. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; España
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