The objective of this work was to determine the concentrations of four heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Fe and Cu) in muscle and liver from the solitary subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum from natural dunes, cultivated area and military area with the purpose of assessing their levels and their possible effect on the biology of this small mammal. Only Pb in tissues of C. talarum from the agricultural zone indicates a risk of toxic effects on the organism. Overall concentrations of heavy metals in soils and tissues of C. talarum from all areas are consistent with lightly polluted habitats, although the increments observed in areas under anthropic use suggest for the possibility that carrying out these human activities for long periods of time, or in an intensive way, could exert an evident impact on ecosystems.
Concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were assessed in body tissues of a solitary subterranean rodent, the silvery mole-rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus) from the African endemic family Bathyergidae. The mean concentrations of cooper and zinc in animals captured in Malawi were higher in liver compared to muscle (18.3 mg.kg-1 vs. 8.8 mg.kg-1 of dry weight for copper; 170.3 mg.kg-1 vs. 101.2 mg.kg-1 for zinc). No important differences were found in oncentration of heavy metals between animals captured in different habitats (grassland vs. cultivated crops) or between sexes. Very low concentrations of lead (0.41 mg.kg-1 in liver, 0.25 mg.kg-1 in muscle) and cadmium (0.09 mg.kg-1 in liver, 0.07 mg.kg-1 in muscle) indicate no health risk connected with local consumption of silvery mole-rats in the area under study.