Heavy metal contamination in the river toad, Bufo juxtasper (Inger), near a copper mine in East Malaysia

Journal Article · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01700195· OSTI ID:6207701

Lee, Yook Heng; Stuebing, R B ^[1]

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1. Univ. Kebangsaan Malaysia, Sabah (Malaysia)

Mining of metals creates a potential source of heavy metal contamination in the environment. An open pit copper mine situated in the Northwest of Sabah, East Malaysia has been known to pollute its surroundings especially with discharges involving heavy metals. Although extensive investigations of heavy metal pollution has been carried out, none of the studies performed so far has included amphibians as indicator of heavy metal contamination in the area. As amphibians live both on land and in water, a study on the heavy metal content of these animals will thus enable a more extensive evaluation of the degree of contamination by heavy metals. Bufo juxtasper was chosen since it inhabits the rocky streams and rivers which exist in both a polluted and non-polluted condition in Sabah. Its' tadpoles are herbivorous feeding mainly on plant detritus, while adults feed principally on ants (which are polyphagous). Furthermore the large adult size of Bufo juxtasper, in which the size of the liver has an allometric relationship with body size, may allow for differentiation between larval and adult uptake through regression analysis. Thus concentration of pollutants acquired only during the larval phase should show a declining or negative slope as a function of body size in adults.

• OSTI ID: 6207701
• Journal Information: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA), Vol. 45:2; ISSN 0007-4861
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LIVER
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
METALS
UPTAKE
WATER POLLUTION
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
ADULTS
CADMIUM COMPOUNDS
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS
COBALT COMPOUNDS
COPPER COMPOUNDS
JUVENILES
LEAD COMPOUNDS
MALAYSIA
MANGANESE COMPOUNDS
MINING
NICKEL COMPOUNDS
SIZE
TOADS
ZINC COMPOUNDS
AGE GROUPS
AMPHIBIANS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ASIA
BODY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ELEMENTS
GLANDS
ORGANS
POLLUTION
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology