The Egyptian Toad (Bufo regularis Reuss) as bio indicator to environmental deterioration with heavy metals in El-Behera governorate

Abstract

There is a notable global drop in the number of amphibian populations. The loss can be directly attributed to pollution, particularly heavy  metal contamination, and habitat damage. It has indeed been well documented in the past that several ecological parameters and  hematological parameters might vary in response to environmental changes. There is a chance that hematological parameters could be  employed as biomarkers of Terrestrial and aquatic pollution because they are susceptible to different environmental stresses. As difficult  to eliminate from the environment and incapable of biological degradation, heavy metals are challenging to remove from the  environment. The present study investigates the effects of various heavy metals in hematological and biochemical parameters of the  Egyptian toad, Bufo regularis Reuss, in El-Behera governorate in three different locations- Damanhur (location 1), Kafr El Dawar (location  2), and Abu Homs (location 3)., The current results show increase in WBCs, a decrease in the means of hemoglobin, hematocrit, protein,  albumin and red blood cells. Furthermore, changes were observed in the main biochemical markers, such as, aspartate aminotransferase  (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD).  The current research has demonstrated and validated that the Kafr El Dawar region is more affected than Damanhour and Abu Homs, So,  this study calls for urgent management of heavy metals and reducing their release into the environment.