Influence of a Former Mining Area in the Heavy Metals Concentrations in Blood of Free-Living Mediterranean Pond Turtles (Mauremys leprosa)

The objective of this study was to assess metal exposure in the Mediterranean Pond Turtle ( Mauremys leprosa ) inhabiting a watercourse in an ancient mining district polluted by different metals (“Rambla de Las Moreras”, southeastern Spain) and included in the Ramsar Convention. For this purpose, mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) were analysed in blood samples from 42 M. leprosa healthy adults (27 males and 13 females). The highest median concentrations were found for Zn, followed by Cu, Pb, Hg and Cd (366, 33, 9, 0.83 and 0.14 µg/dL, respectively). Although the literature regarding toxic metals in freshwater turtles is relatively scarce, Pb may cause deleterious effects in our population. In general, males presented higher levels than females, which could be due to maternal transfer during egg formation. The significant correlations between Cu–Cd and Cu–Hg suggest the implication of an efficient mechanism of detoxification involving metallothioneins.