Metal exposure – a factor in bat population decline [View all]
https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2016/research/bat-population-decline-metals/[font face=Serif][font size=5]Metal exposure a factor in bat population decline[/font]
Posted on 9 June 2016
[font size=3]Scientists at the University of York have led the first full-scale national assessment of metal contamination in bats, showing that many bats in the UK contain levels of metals high enough to cause toxic effects.
Approximately 21 percent of bats sampled contained residues of at least one metal at concentrations high enough to elicit toxic effects, such as kidney damage. Lead was found to pose the greatest risk, as seven to 11 percent of bats sampled had levels of lead above the toxic threshold for this metal in small mammals.
Copper, zinc and cadmium was also prevalent in bat tissue, with levels often above the upper levels measured in other mammal species.
Professor Alistair Boxall, who supervised Dr Hernout, said: The percentage of bats in which concentrations of metals exceeded toxic thresholds suggest that a significant proportion of the bat population in England and Wales may be affected by metal exposure.
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