Studies On Investigation

Of The Heavy Metals

Accumulation In Bats

SHARIFAH ZULAIKHA BINTI SYED SAHIMI (64138)

STK3013
 INTRODUCTION
As reported by Lim (2012), bats are volant small mammals and can be divided into
two suborders, which are Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera.

Bats species were chosen because they fulfill the criteria of being the suitable bio-
indicator of heavy metals determination due to most of bats species are long-lived life
expectancy (Arlettaz et al., 2002).

Referring to Bartholomew (2014), the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by living

organisms is an excellent indicator of the exposure where it has been extensively used
to assess contamination levels of heavy metals in polluted ecosystems.
 PROBLEM
STATEMENT
• Heavy metals in the environment can be determined using biological
specimens as the bio-indicator which gives information on the quality of
the environment (Bartholomew, 2014).
• According to Kunz et al. (2007), bats are sensitive to the changes in the
environment due to human-induced that cause heavy metal pollution.
• Therefore, the expectation on the concentration of heavy metals in bats
tissue will vary depending on the species of the bats as well as their
habitat. Whereas, the more polluted of the area, the higher the
concentration of the heavy metals.
 OBJECTIVE OF
STUDY

1. To examine the level of concentration of heavy metals in kidney tissue

of bats from different bat species and different site in Sarawak.

2. To determine the relationships of the existence of heavy metals in

bats’ internal organ tissues with the environment.
 LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
REVIEW
As stated by Barclay and Harder (2003), bats with its
small body size have relatively long life spans
compared to similar size non-volant small mammals.

Due to their relatively long life as for example up to

40 years old and their high daily food intake
(Podlutsky et al., 2005), bats can be particularly
prone to chemical exposure, especially to
contaminants such as metals, that accumulate
through the food chain (Hickey et al., 2001).
This is due to the heavy metals that are
transferred from sediments/water/soil/plants
Disturbances at natural caves such as commercial
or other sources to insect larvae and adults,
development, recreation or land-use changes can
and finally to the bats themselves (Hernout et
affect use by bats, causing a shift in use to abandoned
al. 2013).
mines, which can provide alternative roost sites if
they supply suitable habitat (Tobin et al., 2018).
Meanwhile, the primary means of heavy
metal contamination in fruit bats are likely to
be through atmospheric pollution, with
secondary contamination from contact with
contaminated foliage whilst searching for and
eating food (Zukal et al., 2015).
• In another study reported by Hernout et al. (2016), a strong positive
correlations were found between concentrations in tissues for a given
metal on liver and kidneys for Cd, Cu and Pb as well as stomach, fur and
bones for Pb that shows the long term exposure to these contaminants
to the internal organs.
 MATERIALS AND
METHODS
The sampling of bats will be done at Wind Cave Nature
Reserve (WCNR) (1° 24.915’ N and 110° 08.109’ E) in Bau
district of Sarawak and in University Malaysia Sarawak
(UNIMAS) (1°27'34.79"N and 110° 26' 23.39" E).
ground methods which are mist-netting,
harp trapping and hand netting (Abdullah,
2003; Hall et al., 2002).

All the morphological measurements of bats

will take by using calipers to take the
measurements of head and body length
(HB), tail length (T), hindfoot length (HF), ear
length (E), forearm length (FA), total length
(TL), tail ventral length (TVL), and wingspan
measurement while portable spring scale
will be used to measure the weight of the
bats (Bartholomew, 2014).

Eight to twelve mist nets and three harp

traps will be set in various locations
supposed to be in the flyways of bats, such
as above streams, narrow pathways in the
forest, the trails as well as the forest edge
and the cave openings (Faisal et al., 2007;
Mohd-Azlan et al., 2008).

Before analysis, the samples will be
sorted and cleaned of debris and dust,
and rinsed with 1 N HCl and deionized
water to remove surface contamination
(Hsu, Selvaraj, & Agoramoorthy, 2005).
Then the cleaned, whole-body samples
then dried to constant weight at 60 ∘C
for 72 h.
dried material will be digested in a
mixture of concentrated HNO3 –H2O2
(5:2 ml) in closed Teflon beakers at 80 ∘C
for 8 h
The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu,
and Zn) are selected for analysis
The heavy metals that determined from the
sample solutions will be analyzed using
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission
Spectrometry (ICP-OES; located at the University
Malaysia Sarawak).
dried samples will undergo digestion that made
up to a fixed volume of 10 ml with Millipore
water to obtain a final digest containing 10%
acid

Then, the tissue samples will be placed in

the oven at 110 ∘C for 48 hours.

The dried tissue samples will be ground

by using pestle and mortar
ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical
Emission Spectrometry )

The samples will be detected using plasma and

spectrometer

Common Applications:
Ag, Ba, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, As, Se, Sr, V,
Zn, etc.

Potential Capabilities:
Many other trace elements.

Sample Types:
Water, soil, food products, biological materials,
etc.
Principle
The solution to analyze is conducted by a peristaltic pump
though a nebulizer into a spray chamber. The produced aerosol
is lead into an argon plasma. Plasma is the forth state of
matter, next to the solid, liquid and gaseous state. In the ICP-
OES the plasma is generated at the end of a quarts torch by a
cooled induction coil through which a high frequency alternate
current flows. As a consequence, an alternate magnetic field is
induced which accelerated electrons into a circular trajectory.
Due to collision between the argon atom and the electrons
ionization occurs, giving rise to a stable plasma. The plasma is
extremely hot, 6000-7000 K. In the induction zone it can even
reach 10000 K. In the torch desolvation, atomization and
ionizations of the sample takes place. Due to the thermic
energy taken up by the electrons, they reach a higher "excited"
state. When the electrons drop back to ground level energy is
liberated as light (photons). Each element has an own
characteristic emission spectrum that is measured with a
spectrometer. The light intensity on the wavelength is
measured and with the calibration calculated into a
concentration.
 EXPECTED
At the end of this study, the level of concentration of heavy metals in
OUTCOME
kidney and liver tissue of bats from different species will be determine.
Besides, the relationship of the existence of the heavy metals in the bats
tissue will be ascertain.

By the end of this experiment, among of the heavy metals in this study
consists of copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb),
cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) due to the mining area in the study site.
The heavy metals concentration that contaminates the environment will
be detected and the concentration of heavy metals in bats’ internal organ
tissues from different bats species will be compared in two different study
site.
WORK PLAN
REFERANCES
THANK YOU