2024 : 12 : 6
Masoumeh Najibzadeh

Masoumeh Najibzadeh

Academic rank: Assistant Professor
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2139-4833
Education: PhD.
ScopusId: 57038888600
HIndex:
Faculty: Science
Address: Arak University
Phone: 0863267226

Research

Title
Hazard assessment of microplastics and heavy metals contamination in Levant frogs (Pelophylax bedriagae): A bioindicator in Western Iran
Type
JournalPaper
Keywords
Amphibian species Microplastic particles Gastrointestinal tract Heavy metal accumulation Ingested particles
Year
2024
Journal Environmental Research
DOI
Researchers Masoumeh Najibzadeh ، Ali Kazemi ، Habib Ul Hassan ، Milad Esmaeilbeigi

Abstract

The increasing pollution of aquatic ecosystems caused by microplastics (MPs) and heavy metal ions worldwide threatens the life of aquatic organisms, including amphibians. In this study, we investigated the presence and accumulation of MPs and heavy metal ions in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of the Levant frog (Pelophylax bedriagae) as a bioindicator in contaminated sites of Western Iran. A total of 192 adult frogs from 16 locations in the west and northwest of Iran were collected. We measured the accumulation of MPs and heavy metal ions in the collected frogs and determined the characteristics of MPs in the samples. Our fidings revealed widespread MPs and heavy metal ions contamination in the frog GIT across all sampled stations. We found 742 MP particles in the digestive system of frogs, with the highest (7.09 MP/individual) and lowest (2.37 MP/individual) number observed in stations 10 and 9, respectively. Fibers were the most common MPs and polyester (PES) (42.5%) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (17.2%) were found to be the most common polymers in the GIT of frogs. The average accumulation of heavy metal ions showed signifiant differences (P < 0.05) among 16 sampling stations, and zinc (II) and mercury (II) showed the highest and lowest concentrations in frogs. We also found moderate to strong positive correlations between the detected MPs and heavy metal ions in the frog samples across all sampling stations. Our fidings confim the contamination of frogs by MPs and heavy metal ions and the potential capacity of MPs to increase the toxicity of heavy metals in P. bedriagae as a bioindicator in contaminated sites.