Trace elements in the liver of captive and free-ranging European bison (Bison bonasus L.)

Abstract

European bison is classified as a vulnerable species because of many threats. We analyzed the content of toxic and essential elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, Th, Tl, U, V, and Zn) in the livers of 30 captive and free-ranging European bison from the Bison Breeding Center in Smardzewice and from Białowieża Primeval Forest in Poland. The contents of toxic elements were lower than reported previously in European Bison and were similar to those of wild ungulates from non-polluted areas. Accumulation of Cd and Cr was related to the age of animals. We compared the mineral status between captive and free-ranging European bison to verify whether the maintenance type could affect concentrations of trace elements in the liver. The concentration of Mn and Zn differed between captive and free-ranging group. Our results were compared to the reference values of essential elements for cattle. All animals from this study were Se-deficient and more than 80% of them have Cu deficiency. Deficiency of Mn was present in 20% of captive and 37% of free-ranging animals whereas Zn in 37% and 3% respectively. Statistical analysis confirmed that Mn and Zn deficiencies were related o the maintenance of animals (p<0.05). We revealed that mineral deficiencies could be an additional threat to the Polish population of European bison. Thus, the monitoring of essential minerals is necessary and future work is required to optimize the supplementation and foddering for preventing the occurrence of mineral deficiencies.