Morphofunctional Features of Internal Organs in Birds of Passage and Nesting Birds Living in Areas Affected by Emergency Oil Spills

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Abstract
In 2020, an emergency diesel fuel spill and leakage from storage tanks occurred in the city of Norilsk; as a result, petroleum products entered adjacent water bodies and reached Lake Pyasino. The objects of this study are organs and tissues of nesting and migrating representatives of the order Anseriformes inhabiting the affected area. An aerial survey was conducted in 2021–2023, and censuses of birds in gatherings were performed on the basis of the photographs. To monitor the affected area and identify suitable sampling sites, the Lake Pyasino basin was divided into 4606 squares (1 km2 in size), 1205 of which (149 impact sites and 1056 control sites) were selected. After their ranking and analysis of species richness, the five most contaminated sites and seven control sites were identified. The most severe changes in the liver, lungs, and heart were diagnosed in nesting birds. Brown foreign particles present in the blood were diffusely distributed throughout the circulatory system and recorded in the blood in all studied organs. In addition, pronounced invasion was detected in the studied organs in all groups of birds. The following pathologies were diagnosed in the birds: hematopoiesis disorders, venous congestion, edemas and hemorrhages in lungs, bronchopneumonia, hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes, fatty dystrophies in parenchyma, and focal necroses in liver. Long-term exposure to the toxicant results in the transition of the organism from a stress state to a shock state. A significant role is played by free kinins (i.e., vasoactive polypeptides). Overall, chronic exposure to petroleum products results in pronounced pathologies of internal organs accompanied by hepatobiliary, cardiovascular, and respiratory disorders. The following hypothesis has been confirmed: emergency spills of petroleum products and their residual presence after the remediation pose a toxic hazard for both nesting birds and birds of passage within the affected wetland. In nesting species, however, pathohistological changes in the liver, lungs, and heart are more pronounced.

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