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<p>Urban wetlands deliver essential ecosystem services but are increasingly exposed to chronic contamination from expanding urban infrastructure and associated anthropogenic activities. Effective biomonitoring is therefore critical for assessing ecological condition and guiding urban wetland management. This study evaluates the Grey Heron (<i>Ardea cinerea</i>) as an urban sentinel species for metal(loid) contamination in an urban wetland of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Non-invasive droppings samples were collected between 2020 and 2023 and analyzed for cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Concentrations of all three metal(loid)s increased consistently over the study period, indicating progressive accumulation within the urban wetland food web. Mean concentrations (mg kg⁻¹) increased from 13.44 (Cd), 14.77 (Pb), and 13.08 (As) in 2020 to 32.74 (Cd), 34.52 (Pb), and 29.87 (As) in 2023, with Pb consistently exhibiting the highest levels. These trends likely reflect sustained urban-driven inputs from industrial activities, traffic emissions, and altered hydrology within the surrounding catchment. Although individual droppings reflect recent exposure, repeated monitoring of Grey Heron droppings over multiple years provides valuable insights into temporal trends in contaminant exposure within urban wetland ecosystems. The findings highlight the utility of Grey Herons as sentinel species for urban ecosystem monitoring and support the need for continued surveillance of metal(loid) contamination in rapidly developing coastal landscapes.</p>

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Locally migrant Grey Herons as urban sentinels: Non-invasive evidence of escalating metal(loid) contamination in a coastal urban wetland

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月16日

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  • K. A. Rubeena,
  • K. M. Aarif,
  • Nadiyah M. Alabdallah,
  • Omer Reshi,
  • Mudasir Nayeem Mir,
  • Luai M. Alhems

摘要

Urban wetlands deliver essential ecosystem services but are increasingly exposed to chronic contamination from expanding urban infrastructure and associated anthropogenic activities. Effective biomonitoring is therefore critical for assessing ecological condition and guiding urban wetland management. This study evaluates the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) as an urban sentinel species for metal(loid) contamination in an urban wetland of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Non-invasive droppings samples were collected between 2020 and 2023 and analyzed for cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Concentrations of all three metal(loid)s increased consistently over the study period, indicating progressive accumulation within the urban wetland food web. Mean concentrations (mg kg⁻¹) increased from 13.44 (Cd), 14.77 (Pb), and 13.08 (As) in 2020 to 32.74 (Cd), 34.52 (Pb), and 29.87 (As) in 2023, with Pb consistently exhibiting the highest levels. These trends likely reflect sustained urban-driven inputs from industrial activities, traffic emissions, and altered hydrology within the surrounding catchment. Although individual droppings reflect recent exposure, repeated monitoring of Grey Heron droppings over multiple years provides valuable insights into temporal trends in contaminant exposure within urban wetland ecosystems. The findings highlight the utility of Grey Herons as sentinel species for urban ecosystem monitoring and support the need for continued surveillance of metal(loid) contamination in rapidly developing coastal landscapes.