The Egyptian Toad (Bufo regularis Reuss) as bioindicator to environmental deterioration with heavy metal in El-Behera governorate

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Damanhur University, Egypt

10.21608/bbj.2024.386839

Abstract

There is a notable global drop in the number of amphibian populations. The loss can be directly attributed to pollution, particularly heavy metal contamination, and habitat damage.  It has indeed been well documented in the past that several ecological parameters and hematological parameters might vary in response to environmental changes. There is a chance that hematological parameters could be employed as biomarkers of Terrestrial and aquatic pollution because they are susceptible to different environmental stresses.  As difficult to eliminate from the environment and incapable of biological degradation, heavy metals are challenging to remove from the environment.  The present study investigates the effects of various heavy metals in hematological and biochemical parameters of the Egyptian toad, Bufo regularis Reuss, in El-Behera governorate in three different locations- Damanhur (location 1), Kafr El Dawar (location 2), and Abu Homs (location 3)., The current results show increase in WBCs, a decrease in the means of hemoglobin, hematocrit, protein, albumin and red blood cells. Furthermore, changes were observed in the main biochemical markers, such as, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD). Current research has demonstrated and validated that the Kafr El Dawar region is more affected than Damanhur and Abu Homs, So, this study calls for urgent management of heavy metals and reducing their release into the environment.

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