Abstract
The aims of the study were to determine manganese (Mn), iron (Fe) and strontium (Sr) concentrations in fox bone samples from north-western Poland and to examine the relationships between the bone Mn, Fe and Sr concentrations and the sex and age of the foxes. In the studied samples of fox cartilage, cartilage with adjacent compact bone, compact bone and spongy bone, the concentrations of the analysed metals had the following descending order: Fe > Sr > Mn. The only exception was in compact bone, in which the concentrations were arranged in the order Sr > Fe > Mn. Manganese concentrations were significantly higher in cartilage, compact bone and cartilage with compact bone than in spongy bone. Iron concentrations were higher in cartilage and spongy bone compared with compact bone. Strontium concentrations were greater in compact bone than in cartilage and spongy bone. The manganese, iron and strontium concentrations in the same type of bone material in many cases correlated with each other, with the strongest correlation (r > 0.70) between Mn and Fe in almost all types of samples. In addition, concentrations of the same metals in different bone materials were closely correlated for Mn and Fe in cartilage and cartilage with adjacent compact bone, and for Sr in compact bone and cartilage with compact bone. In the fox from NW Poland, there were no statistically significant differences in Mn, Fe and Sr in any of the types of bone material between the sexes and immature and adult foxes.