Arsenic deposition in tissues of the European hare (Lepus europaeus)

Abstract

The work deals with arsenic deposition in individual biological matrices of the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.). The aim of this work was to evaluate the arsenic deposition in biological matrices of adult hares distributed by sex, and to highlight the need for monitoring this element in the natural environment. Determination of arsenic concentration was carried out on 11 biomarkers in 105 adult hares from variously loaded areas of the Czech Republic. Individual matrices include the liver, kidneys, brain, adipose tissue, reproductive organs, bone, fur, faeces, lungs, skeletal muscle and the heart. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was employed as a method to detect arsenic concentrations in the tissues. Arsenic deposition in the monitored biological matrices of adult animals showed no significant differences between sexes. The ratio of arsenic concentration in the skeletal muscle as compared with concentration in other tissues was 1:2.96 in the liver, followed by 1:4.35 in kidneys, 1:1.07 in the heart, 1:2.73 in lungs, 1:3.12 in ovaries, 1:3.30 in testicles, 1:5.90 in bones, 1:114.68 in fur, and 1:60.05 in faeces. Deposition of this element in matrices has a similar character and only differs in concentrations.

Heavy Metals (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) in Hare Tissues: A Survey

“…Study areas in Croatia (Škrivanko et al, 2008; Špirić et al, 2012) have low Hg contamination levels and are comparable with study areas in Slovakia (Massányi et al, 2003) and Serbia (Petrović, 2013). The concentrations in hare tissues in the Czech Republic (Bukovjan et al, 1997) were several times higher. In the Molve area of Croatia, Hg levels in the liver and kidney decreased between two sampling periods (1984-90 vs. 1990-2008; cf.…”

“…The highest Cd concentrations in hare kidney were recorded in Canada (Pedersen and Lierhagen, 2006) and in Poland's Lesser Poland ( Małopolska) province (Wajdzik, 2006;Halecki et al, 2017;Wajdzik et al, 2017). Similar Cd concentrations were established in hares in Finland (Venäläinen et al, 1996), Czech Republic (Bukovjan et al, 1997), Slovakia (Toman and Massányi, 1996;Massányi et al, 2003), and Serbia (Petrović et al, 2013). The lowest concentrations were recorded in the tissues of the Iberian hare in Spain (Fidalgo et al, 2016).…”

“…Kolesarova et al (2008) detected heavy metal concentrations in the liver and kidney but did not detect any correlations with biochemical and hormonal parameters in blood plasma. Bukovjan et al (1997) detected an increased percentage of pathohistological alterations in certain organs (brain, kidney, liver, and spleen) of hares from an industrial area in comparison to hares from uncontaminated habitats. Hares from a contaminated habitat are easier prey for predators and are less productive (Halecki et al, 2017).…”

“…Arsenic has a high affinity to sulfhydryl groups and is primarily accumulated in the nails (Amuno et al, 2017) and hair (Bukovjan et al, 2016) of hares as tissues rich in keratin. Bukovjan et al (2016) established that the ratio of arsenic concentration in the muscle and other tissues and excrement was 1:2.96 for liver, 1:4.35 for kidney, 1:1.07 for heart, 1:2.73 for lungs, 1:3.3 for testicles, 1:5.90 for bones, 1:114.68 for hair and 1:60.05 for feces, with no differences determined between the sexes. Amuno et al (2017) examined the As and Cd concentrations in hare tissues from the vicinity of a gold mine (Yellowknife, Canada) and a reference site.…”

“…Pb concentrations in the hare tissues in Canada are low due to the low values of atmospheric Pb deposition (Pedersen and Lierhagen, 2006). In the European hare, the lowest concentrations were recorded in Finland (Venäläinen et al, 1996), Slovakia (Massányi et al, 2003), and Serbia (Petrović, 2013), slightly higher concentrations in the Czech Republic (Bukovjan et al, 1997), and the highest concentrations in Poland (Wajdzik, 2006;Mysłek and Kalisinska, 2006). The results of Pb level in the hare tissues from Vojvodina, Serbia (Beuković et al, 2022), and the Lviv region, Ukraine (Pilarzcyk et al, 2020) are cause for concern.…”