2 research outputs found
Feathers, eggs, and blood as bioindicators of heavy metals and their impact on DNA damage in captive Pavo cristatus
ABSTRACTHeavy metals and their genotoxic effects in captive Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) residing in various regions of Punjab, Pakistan, specifically, Wildlife Park Bahawalpur (WPB), Jallo Wildlife Park Lahore (JWPL), and Wildlife Park Murree (WPM) were evaluated in blood, feathers, eggshell and egg content samples. The Single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay was performed to evaluate DNA damage. The results showed that the concentration of Cr was significantly high (Pβ<β0.05) in Blood (3.79β
Β΅g/g), Feather (4.87β
Β΅g/g), Egg shell (51.02β
Β΅g/g) and Egg Content (13.59β
Β΅g/g) samples of Jallo Wildlife Park Lahore followed by Pb, Mn, Ni and Co. The highest (Pβ<β0.05) metal accumulation was found in eggshell samples due to its porous structure as compared to other samples. Likewise region-wise analysis showed that Jallo Wildlife Park Lahore appeared to be more polluted than WPB and WPM. Indian Peafowl kept at WPM and JWPL exhibited higher levels of genotoxicity compared to the birds kept at WPB. This disparity can be attributed to the increased exposure to pollution and heightened stress experienced by the peafowl in the former two locations. This study concluded that among all the three study sites of Punjab, the WPB is most suitable for housing captive animals and birds
Interspecific heavy metal variations and bioaccumulation in peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
ABSTRACTThe present study was designed for biomonitoring of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and cobalt (Co) at three selected wildlife parks of Punjab. Soil, water and feed samples analysis revealed the high heavy metals contents in feed (21.59βΒ±β27.39 and 12.67βΒ±β23.13) followed by soil (11.80βΒ±β25.84 and 4.96βΒ±β10.95) and water (2.93βΒ±β4.48 and 1.11βΒ±β1.23) samples at Jallo Wildlife Park and Wildlife Park Bahawalnagar, respectively. At Wildlife Park Murree, heavy metals contamination was recorded highest in feed (10.45βΒ±β16.35), followed by water (6.26βΒ±β11.35) and soil samples (5.75βΒ±β9.54). Feathers samples at all sites showed the highest levels of heavy metals concentrations as 12.21βΒ±β25.69 at Jallo Wildlife Park, 11.50βΒ±β25.63 at Wildlife Park Bahawalnagar and 3.35βΒ±β4.81 at Wildlife Park Murree. Interspecific variation of heavy metals among samples and sites was recorded at Pβ<β0.01, and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the feathers of captive birds was found in high concentration, making them a good indicator of biomonitoring. In captivity, the birds feeding on homogenous diets and particular environmental conditions can better allow us to understand the bioaccumulation of polymetallic contamination, which can further be generalized to predict the risk of these toxic pollutants on public health