Utilizing birds as a bioindicator species to monitor potentially toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in an ecosystem
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70809/6566Keywords:
thematic review, potentially toxic elements (PTEs), bioindicator, birds, heavy metalsAbstract
Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) is a versatile term which includes heavy metals, non-metals and even essential elements, that pose significant environmental and health risks to humans, animals, and plants. Bioindicator species, particularly birds, are valuable tools for monitoring PTEs contamination in ecosystems, offering insights into pollutant levels and their ecological impacts. Birds, as top predators with extensive mobility, absorb contaminants across large areas, making them effective bioindicators in freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, and wetlands. This study reviews recent research (2014-2024) on the use of birds for biomonitoring of PTEs, focusing on their behavior, feeding habits, and migration patterns, which influence contamination accumulation. Key findings indicate that bird species’ diet, residency, and foraging behavior significantly affect PTEs bioaccumulation, with migratory species showing higher metal concentrations. Different sample types, including feathers, blood, and excrement, serve as non-destructive methods for assessing PTEs exposure in birds, with feathers possibly becomes a reliable indicator of metal accumulation in internal tissues. The review emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate bird species and sample types to enhance the accuracy of environmental contamination assessments and underscores the utility of birds in understanding the broader ecological effects of PTEs pollution.
References
Abdullah, M., Fasola, M., Muhammad, A., Malik, S. A., Bostan, N., Bokhari, H., Kamran, M. A., Shafqat, M. N., Alamdar, A. and Khan, M. 2015. Avian feathers as a non-destructive bio-monitoring tool of trace metals signatures: a case study from severely contaminated areas. Chemosphere. 119 553–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.06.068
Anbazhagan, V., Partheeban, E. C., Arumugam, G., Selvasekaran, V., Rajendran, R., Paray, B. A., Al-Sadoon, M. K. and Al-Mfarij, A. R. 2021. Avian feathers as a biomonitoring tool to assess heavy metal pollution in a wildlife and bird sanctuary from a tropical coastal ecosystem. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 28 38263–38273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13371-1
Berglund, Å. M. 2018. Evaluating blood and excrement as bioindicators for metal accumulation in birds. Environmental Pollution. 233 1198–1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.10.031
Dahmardeh Behrooz, R. and Burger, J. 2022. Heavy metals in the liver, kidney, brain, and muscle: Health risk assessment for the consumption of edible parts of birds from the Chahnimeh Reservoirs Sistan (Iran). Biological Trace Element Research. 200 (9) 4098–4113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02995-6
Egwumah, F., Egwumah, P. and Edet, D. 2017. Paramount roles of wild birds as bioindicators of contamination. Int J Avian & Wildlife Biol. 2 (1) 194–200. https://doi.org/10.15406/ijawb.2017.02.00041
Espín, S., Andersson, T., Haapoja, M., Hyvönen, R., Kluen, E., Kolunen, H., Laaksonen, T., Lakka, J., Leino, L. and Merimaa, K. 2024. Fecal calcium levels of bird nestlings as a potential indicator of species-specific metal sensitivity. Environmental Pollution. 345 123181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123181
Grúz, A., Mackle, O., Bartha, A., Szabó, R., Déri, J., Budai, P. and Lehel, J. 2019. Biomonitoring of toxic metals in feathers of predatory birds from eastern regions of Hungary. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 26 26324–26331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05723-9
Khwankitrittikul, P., Poapolathep, A., Poapolathep, S., Prasanwong, C., Kulprasertsri, S. and Khidkhan, K. 2024. Species Differences and Tissue Distribution of Heavy Metal Residues in Wild Birds. Animals. 14 (2) 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020308
Kocagöz, R., Onmuş, O., Onat, I., Çağdaş, B., Sıkı, M. and Orhan, H. 2014. Environmental and biological monitoring of persistent organic pollutants in waterbirds by non-invasive versus invasive sampling. Toxicology letters. 230 (2) 208–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.01.044
Maznikova, V. N., Ormerod, S. J. and Gómez-Serrano, M. Á. 2024. Birds as bioindicators of river pollution and beyond: specific and general lessons from an apex predator. Ecological Indicators. 158 111366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111366
Mukhtar, H., Chan, C.-Y., Lin, Y.-P. and Lin, C.-M. 2020. Assessing the association and predictability of heavy metals in avian organs, feathers, and bones using crowdsourced samples. Chemosphere. 252 126583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126583
Nieder, R. and Benbi, D. K. 2024. Potentially toxic elements in the environment – a review of sources, sinks, pathways and mitigation measures. Reviews on Environmental Health. 39 (3) 561–575. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/reveh-2022-0161
Rutkowska, M., Płotka-Wasylka, J., Lubinska-Szczygeł, M., Różańska, A., Możejko-Ciesielska, J. and Namieśnik, J. 2018. Birds' feathers–suitable samples for determination of environmental pollutants. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 109 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.09.022
Samaraweera, M., Chandrajith, R. and Jayasena, N. 2022. Birds of different feeding habits as biomonitors for trace elements in a wetland of the Central Asian Flyway, Sri Lanka. Chemosphere. 306 135602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135602
Sanchari, B. 2023. Birds as Intrinsic Bio-Indicators for Probing Heavy Metal Contamination Signatures in Polluted Environmental Matrices. In A. A. Basim (Ed.), Heavy Metals (pp. Ch. 5). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110449
Siddig, A. A., Ellison, A. M., Ochs, A., Villar-Leeman, C. and Lau, M. K. 2016. How do ecologists select and use indicator species to monitor ecological change? Insights from 14 years of publication in Ecological Indicators. Ecological Indicators. 60 223–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.036
Solgi, E., Mirzaei-Rajeouni, E. and Zamani, A. 2020. Feathers of three waterfowl bird species from Northern Iran for heavy metals biomonitoring. Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology. 104 727–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02852-7
Varagiya, D., Jethva, B. and Pandya, D. 2022. Feather heavy metal contamination in various species of waterbirds from Asia: a review. Environmental monitoring and assessment. 194 (1) 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09678-8
Vizuete, J., Pérez-López, M., Míguez-Santiyán, M. P. and Hernández-Moreno, D. 2019. Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Selenium (Se), and Arsenic (As) in Liver, Kidney, and Feathers of Gulls: A Review. In P. de Voogt (Ed.), Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 247 (pp. 85–146). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/398_2018_16
Yao, T., Zhu, G., Zhang, Y., Yan, P., Li, C. and de Boer, W. F. 2021. Bird's feather as an effective bioindicator for detection of trace elements in polymetallic contaminated areas in Anhui Province, China. Science of the Total Environment. 771 144816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144816
Zaman, M. H., Mustafa, G., Sheikh, M. A., Qadir, A., Shahid, S. U. and Abbasi, N. A. 2022. A multi-tissue biomonitoring investigation of toxic trace elements and their trophic transfer potential in a semi aquatic bird species, the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis). Chemosphere. 300 134582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134582
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nadhirah Binti Saidon, Major László, Szabó Rita, Lehel József
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Cikkre a Creative Commons 4.0 standard licenc alábbi típusa vonatkozik: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0. Ennek értelmében a mű szabadon másolható, terjeszthető, bemutatható és előadható, azonban nem használható fel kereskedelmi célokra (NC), továbbá nem módosítható és nem készíthető belőle átdolgozás, származékos mű (ND). A licenc alapján a szerző vagy a jogosult által meghatározott módon fel kell tüntetni a szerző nevét és a szerzői mű címét (BY).
