Vol. 75 (3) 2023

ARTICLES

Leukogram of Adult Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Anura: Ranidae) in the Sedimentation Lake of the Brikel Thermal Power Station in Southern Bulgaria: Evaluation of Biomarkers for Ecological Stress Assessment

Zhivko M. Zhelev1,*, Georgi S. Popgeorgiev2 & Darinka K. Boyadzhieva-Doychinova1

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*1Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Paisiy Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, 24 Tsar Asen Street, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; E-mail: darinab@abv.bg
2National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., Sofia 1000, Bulgaria; E-mail: georgi.popgeorgiev@gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb75.3.002659

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Abstract
Evaluation of changes in the leukogram of adult marsh frogs Pelophylax ridibundus inhabiting the polluted sedimentation lake of the Brikel Thermal Power Station (TPS), southern Bulgaria, as biomarkers for ecological stress is presented. For a comparison, data for frogs inhabiting a less disrupted habitat (reference site, RS) are presented. Leukopenia in the blood of individuals of P. ridibundus inhabiting the sedimentation lake of the Brikel TPS was detected but not in frogs from the reference site. Furthermore, the differential leukocyte count of the affected frogs was characterised by neutrophilia, eosinophilia, monocytosis, basopenia and lymphopenia. The values of the neutrophil-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio of the frogs from the lake of the Brikel TPS were higher than that of the ones inhabiting the RS. These changes in the leukogram are indicators of the exhaustion of the immune system and of activation of the organism’s defences in response to stress. The changes in the leukogram are interpreted as caused by the deteriorated water quality in the sedimentation lake as it contained toxicants (reactive water-soluble forms of nitrogen and phosphates) and industrial ash. The results from this study confirm the role of parameter changes in the leukogram of P. ridibundus as diagnostic biomarkers for ecological stress.

Key words
Pelophylax ridibundus, environmental pollution, white blood cells, differential leukocyte count, ecotoxicology

How to Cite
Zhelev Zh.M., Popgeorgiev G.S. & Boyadzhieva-Doychinova D.K. 2023. Leukogram of Adult Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) (Anura: Ranidae) in the Sedimentation Lake of the Brikel Thermal Power Station in Southern Bulgaria: Evaluation of Biomarkers for Ecological Stress Assessment. Acta zoologica bulgarica 75 (3) 367-375.

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