| From October 2008 to October 2009, using atomic absorption spectrometry and atomic fluorescence analysis determined the Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, and As concentrations in the flight feathers, back feathers, tail feathers and breast feathers of captivity, free-range and wild Red-Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) in the Zhalong National Nature Reserve. The results show that:(1) The decreasing sequence of element concentrations in feathers of captivity cranes is Cu> Pb> As> Hg> Cd; the decreasing order of concentrations of five elements in the four kinds of feathers in general is chest feather> flight feather>back feather>tail feather, except the Cu, its sequence is flight feather>breast feather> tail feather> back feather. Furthermore, five elements in different feathers show diversitied differences, Cd, Pb and Cu concentrations between feathers have some diferences, while differences of Hg and As are not significant. The majority of Hg, Cu, and Pb between some different feathers have strong correlations, however, As and Cd have less significant correlations. The flight feather and tail feather of Hg, the flight feather and breast feather of Hg and Pb, the back feather and breast feather of As, as well as tail feather and breast of Cu all had strong significant correlationship(P<0.01), others are just significant(P<0.05).The Red-Crowned Crane feathers which collected at the time of October 2008, May 2009 and October 2009 were measured for the time monitoring of Zhalong Reserve. It is found that Hg, Cu and Pb concentrations increased with time growth, Cd firstly reduced in May 2009, then grew up in October 2009, otherwise As was getting lower over time. Five elements in the feather samples of the three points of time had relatively significant differences, especially Pb, followed by Cd, then Hg and As, the last was Cu.(2) The distribution of five elements in the top of the feather, inner vane, outer vane, shaft and calamus of captivity cranes are as following:in the top of the feather there accumulate the highest concentration of Hg, and the highest As, Cd and Pb concentrations in the outer vane, as well as the highest Cu concentration in the shaft; on the other side, the inner vane contain the lowest Pb and Cu concentrations, the calamus have the lowest concentrations of Hg, As and Cd. Futhermore, among the top of the feather, inner vane, outer vane, shaft and calamus, no significant difference exist and there is no relevance in the most parts, either.(3) The distribution of five elements in the upper segment, middle segment and under segment of the feathers of captivity cranes is below:the highest concentrations of Hg, Cd and Pb are enriched in the upper, the highest As in the middle, and the highest Cu in the under segment; but the lowest concentration of Cu appear in the upper, the lowest levels of Cd and Pb in the middle, the lowest Hg and As in the under. In addition, there are differences between the upper, the middle and the under, particularly the upper part and middle part, as well as the upper and under part more significant, but all the correlations are not obvious. The significant difference is caused by the various levels of distribution of metals in the feather, and this "three-part" method could tell the variation. Therefore, if using feathers as an environmental indicator, such a "three-part" way of cutting the feather should be selected, which can reflect the different metal concentrations in feathers caused by the changes of environmental pollution.(4) By the different kinds of living ways, we identify the cranes for three groups-captivity, free-range and wild. The breast feather of the captivity Red-Crowned Cranes have the highest Hg(0.532μg/g), As(1.328μg/g) and Pb(6.530μg/g) concentrations, the breast feather of free-ranges have the highest Cd(0.179μg/g), and the flight feather of wilds have the highest concentration of Cu(45.218μg/g); however, the tail feather of wilds own the lowest As(0.438μg/g) and Cd(0.025μg/g), and the tail feather of free-ranges contain the lowest Hg(0.285μg/g), Cu(26.146μg/g), and Pb(1.541μg/g). The metal concentrations of the breast feathers are high enough, and show little difference, but significant relevance. Therefore, by measuring one type of three we can determine the levels in other two groups, that way can effectively reflect the heavy metals of all the crane population. Further, if carrying out long-term monitoring, we can ensure the healthy conditions timely.
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