Cuantificación de Plomo (Pb) en tejidos blandos y óseo de murciélagos (Mammalia: Chiroptera) provenientes de zonas de influencia Urbana en la costa occidental de Ecuador

ABSTRACT Lead (Pb) has generated a worldwide concern for its genotoxic effects on human health, and its ability to be bioaccumulative in ecosystems, but nevertheless, there are no estimates of wildlife from terrestrial habitats in Ecuador. Our objective was to determine the concentration of Pb in soft and bone tissues from bats species collected in areas with urban influence in Guayas province, western Ecuador. The specimens were collected with mist nets, manual capture from animals found dead or dying in the streets, and museological collections. We applied Mann-Whitney U test to analyze differences between males and females, and between guilds. 66 chiropterans were analyzed, distributed in 14 species, where 98.5% presented Pb in its body. The nectarivore guild showed highest Pb concentrations than insectivores and frugivores. In the analysis of sexes, no significant differences were found in soft tissue of Glossophaga soricina, Artibeus lituratus, A. aequatorialis and Molossus molossus. Museological samples made possible to detect Pb in several synanthropic species. Finally, Pb should be considered an emerging threat for bats due its possible genotoxic effects over populations.