Trace Element Concentrations in Raillietina micracantha in Comparison to Its Definitive Host, the Feral Pigeon Columba livia in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Archipelago, Spain) Jordi Torres Æ Pilar Foronda Æ Catarina Eira Æ Jordi Miquel Æ Carles Feliu Received: 10 February 2009 / Accepted: 26 May 2009 / Published online: 13 June 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract The use of systems involving bird parasites as bioindicators of environmental pollution has been scarcely studied in comparison to other models involving fish and rodent parasites, which have been demonstrated as partic- ularly adequate due to their bioaccumulation capacities. The present study evaluated the accumulation of nine trace elements in the cestode Raillietina micracantha and in its host Columba livia collected from the densely populated city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Samples (kidney, liver, pectoral muscle, feathers, and R. micracantha) of 27 infected C. livia were selected for trace element analysis by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Element levels in pigeon tissues revealed some degree of pollution in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, par- ticularly by Pb and Zn. Pb and Mn mean concentrations were higher in R. micracantha than in the pigeon’s soft tissues, with subsequent high bioaccumulation factors for Pb (kidney = 15.38, liver = 10.38, muscle = 79.83) and Mn (kidney = 6.81, liver = 7.52, muscle = 19.89, feath- ers = 6.11), among others. The negative relations detected for As concentrations between liver and R. micracantha emphasize a possible role of the cestode in As detoxifica- tion in host tissues. Considering the obtained bioaccumu- lation factors, the system R. micracantha/C. livia is proposed as another promising bioindicator system to evaluate environmental toxic element exposure, particu- larly Pb and Mn, in areas where pollution levels are still relatively low and where both common species are present. Large quantities of pollutants have continuously been introduced into cities as a consequence of anthropogenic activities such as urbanization, traffic, and industrial pro- cesses. In urban environments, the motor vehicle is one of the major sources of pollution, mostly due to exhaust emissions and deterioration of tires, engines, and brakes, among others (Rayson 1990). In fact, in a metropolitan area in Greece, exhaust emissions presently represent the major release source of Cd and Mn (Ewen et al. in press). Fur- thermore, some of the modifications meant to reduce the amount of pollution from motor vehicles (unleaded petrol, catalytic converters, etc.) became new sources of different trace elements such as Platinum Group Elements from catalytic converters (Ward et al. 2004). Assessing pollutants in different ecosystem components is an important task in order to identify possible risks (Gragnaniello et al. 2001). With respect to trace elements, biomonitoring studies might be critical to reflect the potential environmental pollution status and consequences (e.g., Burger and Gochfeld 2000; Loranger et al. 1994). In fact, information about pollutant bioavailability should be more reliable when organisms, rather then their abiotic environment, are evaluated (Phillips 1977). Among possible biomonitoring species, birds have been widely used to assess environmental contamination, and in J. Torres (&) Á J. Miquel Á C. Feliu Department of Sanitary Microbiology and Parasitology, Pharmacy Faculty, Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Barcelona, Joan XXIII Avenue, 08028 Barcelona, Spain e-mail: jtorres@ub.edu P. Foronda Department of Parasitology, Ecology and Genetics, Pharmacy Faculty, University of La Laguna, Astrofı ´sico Francisco Sa ´nchez st, 38271 Tenerife, Spain C. Eira CESAM and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal 123 Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2010) 58:176–182 DOI 10.1007/s00244-009-9352-5