title: Avian feathers as a non-destructive bio-monitoring tool of trace metals signatures: a case study from severely contaminated areas.
abstract: The concentrations of trace metals were assessed using feathers of cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), collected within two industrial areas of Pakistan, Lahore and Sialkot. We found, in order of descending concentration: Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), and Manganese (Mn), Chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As), and Lithium (Li), without any significant difference (except Fe, Zn, and Ni) between the two areas. The concentrations of trace metals, we recorded were among the highest ever reported in the feathers of avian species worldwide. The concentrations of Cr, Pb, Cd were above the threshold that affects bird reproductive success. The high contamination by heavy metals in the two areas is due to anthropogenic activities as well to natural ones (for As and Fe). The bioaccumulation ratios in eggs and feathers of the cattle egret, their prey, and the sediments from their foraging habitats, confirmed that avian feathers are a convenient and non-destructive sampling tool for the metal contamination. The results of this study will contribute to the environmental management of the Lahore and Sialkot industrial areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università, Via Ferrata 9, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fasola
authors.affiliation: Ecotoxicology Research Program, National Agricultural Research Center, Park Road, Islamabad 45500, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ashiq
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Salman Ahmad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Environment Division, Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Nazish
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bostan
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Environment Division, Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Habib
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bokhari
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Aqeel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kamran
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Environment Division, Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mustafa Nawaz
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Shafqat
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, PR China.
authors.forename: Ambreen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alamdar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mudassar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Nadeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Public Health and Environment Division, Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan. Electronic address: ali_ebl2@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Syed Ali Musstjab Akber Shah
authors.initials: SAMAS
authors.lastname: Eqani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D010154:Pakistan; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Cattle egret; Eggs; Feathers; Pakistan; Trace metals