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An Opportunistic Evaluation of Heavy Metal Accumulation in House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus)

Balaji Sundaramahalingam1, Baskaran Somasundaram2 and Pandiarajan Jeyaraj1*

Birds on prey are excellent indicators of healthy ecosystem, as they are top predators occupying multiple trophic levels and various ecological niches. Predatory birds are especially best bio-indicators of bio-accumulative compounds such as methyl mercury because these compounds bio-concentrate in their prey. The use of feathers to evaluate exposure of birds to heavy metals like mercury is a common method. Early formed feathers are molted up to several times per year, and new feather growth quickly followed by replaced molted feathers. In the present experiment the opportunistic samples of dead house sparrows were collected and analysed for the accumulation of lead, zinc, cadmium and mercury by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. From the results it was found that the level of these heavy metals are higher in the samples collected from the urban areas than the rural areas and also higher when compared with permissible limits of FAO.