Trace Element Concentrations in European Pond Turtles (Emys orbicularis) from Brenne Natural Park, France.

We assessed trace elements concentration in European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) from Brenne Natural Park (France). We sampled road-killed turtles (N = 46) to measure the concentrations of 4 non-essential (Ag, Cd, Hg, and Pb) and 10 essential (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se, V, and Zn) elements in muscle, skin, liver and claws. Body size or sex did not influence the concentrations of most elements; except for Hg (liver, skin and claws) and Zn (muscle) which increased with body size. We found relatively high concentrations of Hg and Zn, possibly linked to fish farming. This result deserves future investigations to evaluate possible ecotoxicological effects on E. orbicularis.