Using Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) as a bioindicator of environmental health, across some Egyptian Governorates

Abstract

Bats are a good animal model of monitoring habitat pollution by heavy metal concentration assessment. A total of 50 Egyptian fruit bat were sampled from five governorates: Beni Suef, Damietta, Fayoum, Giza and Menofia. Fur samples were collected from these bats to be tested for the presence of heavy metals by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Seven heavy metals (manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), Ferrum (Fe), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb)) have been estimated. Statistical analysis with One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant difference of heavy metals concentration in the fur of bats at different studied governorates. No statistically differences in fur metals were observed between males and females fruit bat, except for Pb. No, correlation was observed between bat heaviness and fur heavy metals content. This study confirms bat fur as a biomarker for heavy metal contamination. The results showed that Beni Suef samples were the most contaminated with different heavy metals among the other governorates, followed by Damietta samples. Bats from Menofia and Fayoum governorates were the cleanest.