TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ahmad, Sohail
AU  - Ilyas, Muhammad
AU  - Gul, Saira
AU  - Khan, Muhammad Qayash
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/07
TI  - The Ecological Ripple: Investigating Cu and Zn Transfer across Trophic Levels from Fish to Birds in River Kalpani, Pakistan
JO  - ICCK Journal of Intelligent Biotechnology
T2  - ICCK Journal of Intelligent Biotechnology
JF  - ICCK Journal of Intelligent Biotechnology
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
SP  - 1
EP  - 8
DO  - 10.62762/JIB.2026.964990
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JIB.2026.964990
KW  - Copper (Cu)
KW  - Zinc (Zn)
KW  - heavy metals
KW  - trophic transfer
KW  - bioaccumulation
KW  - aquatic biomonitoring
KW  - piscivorous bird
KW  - bioindicator
AB  - This study investigated the distribution and trophic transfer of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) from two freshwater fish species (Channa punctatus and Mastacembelus armatus) to the piscivorous bird Halcyon smyrnensis in River Kalpani, Pakistan. Samples collected from five sites between December 2017 and March 2018 included 64 fish and 15 kingfishers. Target tissues (fish: liver, gill, intestine, muscle; bird: feathers, liver, heart, intestine, muscle, bone, skin) were digested with nitric-perchloric acid and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry; results were expressed as mg kg$^{-1}$ (wet weight for soft tissues, dry weight for feathers and bones) and evaluated using one-way ANOVA ($p$ gill $>$ muscle $>$ skin, with liver Cu ranging from 2.43 to 18.2 mg/kg ww and Zn from 2.46 to 33.33 mg/kg ww. In kingfishers, metals predominantly accumulated in feathers and liver (feather Zn up to 42.5 mg kg$^{-1}$ dw), and mean concentrations were mostly higher in bird than fish tissues, suggesting trophic transfer. No consistent upstream--downstream gradient was observed, and all values remained below avian toxicity thresholds. These findings confirm tissue-specific accumulation and trophic transfer of essential metals, with no acute toxicity but elevated levels in higher trophic levels warranting continued monitoring. Kingfishers thus show promise as bioindicators of metal contamination in freshwater ecosystems.
SN  - 5 Articles Required
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  - 

@article{Ahmad2026The,
  author = {Sohail Ahmad and Muhammad Ilyas and Saira Gul and Muhammad Qayash Khan},
  title = {The Ecological Ripple: Investigating Cu and Zn Transfer across Trophic Levels from Fish to Birds in River Kalpani, Pakistan},
  journal = {ICCK Journal of Intelligent Biotechnology},
  year = {2026},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-8},
  doi = {10.62762/JIB.2026.964990},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JIB.2026.964990},
  abstract = {This study investigated the distribution and trophic transfer of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) from two freshwater fish species (Channa punctatus and Mastacembelus armatus) to the piscivorous bird Halcyon smyrnensis in River Kalpani, Pakistan. Samples collected from five sites between December 2017 and March 2018 included 64 fish and 15 kingfishers. Target tissues (fish: liver, gill, intestine, muscle; bird: feathers, liver, heart, intestine, muscle, bone, skin) were digested with nitric-perchloric acid and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry; results were expressed as mg kg\$^{-1}\$ (wet weight for soft tissues, dry weight for feathers and bones) and evaluated using one-way ANOVA (\$p\$ gill \$>\$ muscle \$>\$ skin, with liver Cu ranging from 2.43 to 18.2 mg/kg ww and Zn from 2.46 to 33.33 mg/kg ww. In kingfishers, metals predominantly accumulated in feathers and liver (feather Zn up to 42.5 mg kg\$^{-1}\$ dw), and mean concentrations were mostly higher in bird than fish tissues, suggesting trophic transfer. No consistent upstream--downstream gradient was observed, and all values remained below avian toxicity thresholds. These findings confirm tissue-specific accumulation and trophic transfer of essential metals, with no acute toxicity but elevated levels in higher trophic levels warranting continued monitoring. Kingfishers thus show promise as bioindicators of metal contamination in freshwater ecosystems.},
  keywords = {Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), heavy metals, trophic transfer, bioaccumulation, aquatic biomonitoring, piscivorous bird, bioindicator},
  issn = {5 Articles Required},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}