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Heavy metal accumulations in three different species of anurans from five sites of Western Ghats, India

S.P.Sohani, J.S.Samant

Toxic manifestation of heavy metals namely cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel and zinc are well known. Accumulation of these metals in the body shows adverse effect in living organisms, its growth, health, life span and reproductive performance. As amphibians are very sensitive to environmental change present study was conducted. In order to assess the concentration of cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel and zinc in the liver and muscle of Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis and Duttaphrynus melanostictus five stations from the Western Ghats were selected. Heavy metal concentrations in the tissues tended to vary significantly among stations, and one station thought to be contaminated by industrial effluent showed particularly high metal concentration.All heavy metalswere higher in concentrations in the liver thanmuscle except for zinc. The results provide some evidence for the potential of the anurans as a biomonitors for heavy metal pollution. The results of this study indicated that themetals present in the environmentwere taken by the anurans through food, water and soil.