Faeces of Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) as a Bioindicator of Contamination in Urban Environments in Central-West Brazil

Along with exposure to parasites and other biological disease vectors, animal faeces can also contain heavy metals and metalloids. We quantified metals, metalloids, and non-metals in the faeces of capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) that live in parks in the city of Campo Grande (Brazil). Quantific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Urban science Vol. 8; no. 4; p. 151
Main Authors:	Batista, Felipe Zampieri Vieira, de Souza, Igor Domingos, Garcia, Diego Azevedo Zoccal, Arakaki, Daniela Granja, Medeiros, Cláudia Stela de Araújo, Ancel, Marta Aratuza Pereira, Melo, Elaine Silva de Pádua, do Nascimento, Valter Aragão
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	24-09-2024
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Summary:	Along with exposure to parasites and other biological disease vectors, animal faeces can also contain heavy metals and metalloids. We quantified metals, metalloids, and non-metals in the faeces of capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) that live in parks in the city of Campo Grande (Brazil). Quantification of metalloids was obtained after acid digestion using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. Higher mean concentrations in mg/kg of aluminium (Al) (140.322), arsenic (As) (0.010), cadmium (Cd) (1.042), chromium (Cr) (26.866), cobalt (Co) (1.946), copper (Cu) (50.764), lead (Pb) (8.762), manganese (Mn) (291.469), molybdenum (Mo) (3.634), nickel (Ni) (5.475), and zinc (Zn) (100.027) were quantified in samples of faeces of capybara that live on the banks of a lagoon that receives input from streams that cross the city. According to the risk assessment, potential risks to the health of children and adults may occur due to the presence of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, and Mn through involuntary oral ingestion of faeces, via inhalation and dermal contact. The hazard index (HI) due to oral ingestion was greater than 1 for children and adults. Therefore, we believe that faeces of H. hydrochaeris can be considered as a bioindicator of environmental pollution in urban parks.
ISSN:	2413-8851 2413-8851
DOI:	10.3390/urbansci8040151