Wing membrane and Fur as indicators of metal exposure and contamination of internal tissues in bats. (1st May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Timofieieva, Olha; Świergosz-Kowalewska, Renata; Laskowski, Ryszard; Vlaschenko, Anton
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 276(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-05-01
• Subjects: Metal bioaccumulation -- Trace metals -- Chiroptera -- Nyctalus noctula -- Eptesicus serotinus; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116703
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: All European bats are protected by the EU and Associated Members legal regulations. Being insectivorous and top predators, they can be particularly exposed to persistent organic and inorganic pollutants. It is surprising how little is known about the impact of environmental pollutants on bats from physiological to populational levels. In this study we focused on contamination with trace metals of first-year bats from Kharkiv city, NE Ukraine. Tissues from the carcasses of two species, Nyctalus noctula (n = 20) and Eptesicus serotinus (n = 20), were used for metal analysis. The samples of external (wing membrane, fur) and internal (liver, lung, kidney, bones) tissues were analysed for contents of Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd to see whether fur or wing membrane can be used as proxies for metal contamination of the vital internal tissues. In E. serotinus, significant positive correlations in Pb concentrations were found between all external and internal tissues. For Cd only, correlation between the fur and lung was found, for Cu between the fur and liver, and for Zn between the fur and kidney. In contrast, for N. noctula, only one such correlation was found – between Zn concentrations in the fur and kidney. The tissues differed significantly in concentrations of all studied metals, with no difference between the species. The results showed that the fur and wing membrane can be used as good proxies for Pb concentrations in internal organs of E. serotinus, but not necessarily for other metals or for N. noctula . The results for Pb are, however, encouraging enough to conclude that the topic is worth further studies, covering more species, a wider age range and more diverse environments. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Metal concentrations in tissues of young bats from Eastern Ukraine are moderate. No differences in metal concentrations were found between the two bat species. In E. serotinus metal concentrations in external and internal tissues were correlated. Ukraine can serve as a model territory for research on exposure of bats to pollutants.