Assessment of Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) as a Possible Bioindicator in an Agricultural Environment in Bulgaria

• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-016-1754-2
• Publication Date: 2016-02-19T06:38:00Z
• Authors: Georgi Markov; Maria Kocheva; Milena Gospodinova
• Keywords: Jackal; Bioindicator

The aim of this study was to evaluate the residues of heavy metals as an indicator of environmental pollution in internal organs of golden jackal (Canis aureus) from an agricultural region in Bulgaria. It was demonstrated that the golden jackal has high potential for specific accumulation of heavy metals, thus implying that this species may serve as a biological indicator of their presence in the agricultural regions, which it inhabits. The concentrations of the targeted elements (mean [mg/kg of dried tissue] ± SD) were respectively: Cu-57.62 ± 10.76; Zn-141.45 ± 11.33; Ni-0.28 ± 0.19; Co-0.46 ± 0.30; Pb-6.88 ± 1.67 and Cd-0.58 ± 0.16 in liver and Cu-17.67 ± 5.01; Zn-58.28 ± 10.81; Ni-0.51 ± 0.4; Co-0.52 ± 0.29; Pb-4.03 ± 1.32 and Cd-1.41 ± 0.22 in kidney samples. The concentrations we found revealed the specific accumulation of these metals in golden jackal and provide values, within which negative effects on the advancement of its populations should not be expected.