Journal of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences (JEAS). Abubaker et al., 2025. 27(1&2):10-21
Open Access – Review Article
Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Pollution through Avian Sentinels: A Review of Blue Rock Pigeons
Muhammad Abubakar 1,*, Abdul Wahab 1, Muhammad Rafique Khan 1, Nabia Sarfraz 1, Zubda Maharavi 1
1 College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental contaminants, known for their toxic and bioaccumulative effects on wildlife, particularly birds. These toxic compounds originate from anthropogenic and natural sources, leading to significant contamination risks. Various research methodologies, such as egg cell injection, yolk injection, eggshell application, and field studies involving controlled and uncontrolled groups at contaminated and reference sites, have been utilized to evaluate PAH contamination in avian species. However, existing studies predominantly focus on tracking short-term effects, often overlooking the long-term impacts and underlying mechanisms of PAH toxicity. Four to six-ring PAHs are particularly harmful, associated with adverse outcomes, including reduced body weight and fertility, enhanced organ development and metabolism, compromised immunity and survival rates, along with lower egg production and clutch size in birds. High incidences of reproductive disorders associated with PAHs have been documented in avian populations in the vicinity of human settlements or affected by oil spills in coastal and marine environments. Continuous exposure of PAHs is prevalent among bird populations. This review emphasizes the urgent need for a continuous monitoring program targeting PAHs and their metabolites across various bird species inhabiting both unaffected and polluted environments. Continued focus and further research into PAHs are crucial for understanding their long-term ecological impacts on avian health and biodiversity.
Keywords: Avian health, Bioindicator species, Bioaccumulation, Biomagnification, Ecological risk assessments, Ecotoxicology, Environmental monitoring, Environmental stressors, Reproductive disorders, Species sensitivity, Toxicokinetics, Wildlife pollution.
*Corresponding author: Muhammad Abubakar, muhammadabubakar704@gmail.com
Cite this article as:
Abubaker, M., A.W. Hussain, M.R. Khan and N. Sarfraz. 2025. Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pollution through Avian Sentinels: A Review of Blue Rock Pigeons. Journal of Environmental & Agricultural Sciences. 26 (1&2): 10-21 [View Full–Text] [Citations].
Copyright © Abubaker et al., 2025 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original author and source are appropriately cited and credited.
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Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that they have no competing interests and there is no conflict of interest exists.
1. Introduction:
1.1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds consisting of two or more interconnected aromatic (benzene) rings composed exclusively of carbon and hydrogen (Mallah et al., 2022; Tartaglione et al., 2023). These compounds can transform into hydroxyl, quinoid, and nitrated metabolites (Ma and Wu, 2024; Manousi et al., 2021). PAHs are commonly found in petroleum, tar, and coal, as well as produced through incomplete combustion of organic matter. Coal combustions, automobile engines, incinerators, biomass burning in forests, slash-and-burn agriculture, and smoking and cooking activities are among the major sources of PAH emissions (Chen et al., 2022; Wietzoreck et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2022).
PAHs are colorless or pale-yellow solids, that can be found in air, water, soil, plants, and animal tissues around the globe. Due to their diverse structures and bioaccumulative properties, PAHs exhibit varying degrees of toxicity and are persistent in the environment (Dey et al., 2023; Patel et al., 2020; Sahoo et al., 2020).
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) enter ecosystems through various natural and anthropogenic pathways. Natural sources include forest and brush fires, while anthropogenic sources encompass automobile emissions, cigarette smoke, and industrial activities. Interest in PAHs as a potential cause of illness surged in 1918 when the carcinogenic properties of benzo(a)pyrene were first identified (Anifowose et al., 2020; Arienzo et al., 2024; Famiyeh et al., 2021). Since then, extensive research has revealed the carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and tumorigenic effects of PAHs, particularly in fish and mammals (Honda and Suzuki, 2020; Yebra-Pimentel et al., 2015). This growing body of evidence highlights the urgent need to monitor PAH exposure and develop strategies to mitigate their harmful effects on ecosystems and public health (Ephraim-Emmanuel and Ordinioha, 2021; Sekar and Praveenkumar, 2024). Understanding the sources, behavior, and environmental fate of PAHs is essential for assessing their ecological impact and the risks they pose to both human health and wildlife.
1.2. Structure and Formation of PAH
PAHs are mainly formed through incomplete combustion of organic materials. This process also contributes to the generation of combustion-derived particles. Beyond their environmental impact, PAHs have significant roles in astrochemistry and materials science. These compounds are known carcinogens and persistent organic pollutants (Reizer et al., 2022).
A study investigates benzo(a)pyrene formation from chrysene and Benz (a)anthracene using a methyl addition/cyclization (MAC) mechanism. The study provides mechanistic insights into the chemical steps involved, including addition reactions, ring closures, hydrogen abstractions, and intramolecular hydrogen shifts. Results reveal that both reaction routes exhibit closely matched energetic trends, with an average energy difference of only 6.13 kJ/mol, highlighting the stability of the benzo(a)anthracene pathway (Almeida et al., 2012).
Heteroatoms and substituents on the ring system are absent from PAHs. Light PAHs are defined as those with less than four rings, and heavy PAHs are those with more rings (Eom et al., 2007). Heavy PAHs are more hazardous and stable than light PAHs. (Tkachenko et al., 2021).
PAHs are hydrocarbons ranging from naphthalene to coronene, i.e., two rings to seven rings, and chemically comprise two or more benzene rings fused into liner, cluster, or angular patterns with alternating single and double bonds. Phenanthrene and anthracene are the simplest PAHs due to their smaller structures, i.e., they consist of only 3 rings (Bartonitz et al., 2020). PAHs have been classified into small (with up to six fused aromatic rings) and large (with more than seven fused aromatic rings) PAHs. Benzo(a)pyrene and 7,12-dimethyl benzo anthracene are the most extensively analyzed and studied PAHs.
Sometimes true PAHs are considered by investigators with nitrogen, sulphur, or oxygen within the ring or substituted for bonded hydrogen. Most PAHs are formed by pyrolysis and subsequent synthesis of the organic matter (Pereira, 2014).
In the presence of high temperatures, i.e., 500-800 degrees Celsius, PAHs are formed because of incomplete combustion of organic matter, whereas in low temperatures, i.e., 100-300 degrees Celsius, by subjecting organic matter to sediments, PAHs production is observed in the form of coal and oil in sedimentary rocks, over a long period. (Zhang et al., 2015).
Although PAHs formed in both temperatures are identical, alkylated compounds formed at low temperatures are abundant.
1.3. Fundamental toxic nature
Cancer is the foremost genuine result of PAH harming. PAHs have a moo intense harmfulness. Based on PAH, a few considers have found noncarcinogenic impacts. After drawn out introduction, the non-carcinogenic impacts of PAHs to a great extent influence the pneumonic, gastrointestinal, renal, and dermatologic frameworks. Numerous PAHs are either humbly mutagenic or non-mutagenic in vitro; in any case, their metabolites or subsidiaries can be solid mutagens (Kobetičová et al., 2008).
1.4. Routes of exposure for polycyclic aromatic compounds
Most people endure exposure to PAHs daily through the air, water, soil, and food. Exposure modalities include intake, inhalation, and skin contact in both occupational and non-occupational circumstances (Pereira et al., 2009). Various exposures, such as cutaneous and inhalation exposures from polluted air, may include numerous routes at the same time, which impacts the total absorbed dose. All non-workplace sources of exposure should be evaluated, including food, smoking, and coal and wood combustion (Dhananjayan, 2013).
1.5. Bioaccumulation of PAH in living organisms
PAHs have the ability to be absorbed and stored by living beings due to their lipophilicity. Several investigations have demonstrated that PAHs can accumulate in rodents, pigs, cows, and human adipose tissue (Luzardo et al., 2014).
Immunotoxicity, embryonic abnormalities, and cardiotoxicity in aquatic life. Tumours, reproduction, development, and immunity in birds. Skin, lung, bladder, liver, and stomach cancers are more common in animals, as are injection-site sarcomas. Skin, lung, bladder, and gastrointestinal malignancies are more common in humans (Power et al., 2021).
2. Significance of birds concerning ecology and environmental pollution
Birds are a big and diverse group of species that play many important ecological roles and offer a multitude of ecosystem services. As intermediaries between apex predators and nutrients, they actively participate in the trophic transfer of pollutants (Brausch et al., 2010).
Birds maintain plant diversity and growth and also perform important ecological roles as pollinators and seed dispersers. Several birds can function as ecosystem engineers in some habitats (e.g., Little Auk, Black-backed Woodpeckers, and vultures of the Accipitridae and Bucerotidae families) or are keystone species. Birds have cultural significance and have represented countries and groups (Franci et al., 2018).
Sadly, reports of avian population decrease and extinctions in North America and other parts of the world have been linked to habitat degradation, unrestricted harvesting, and human causes of mortality. When it comes to chemical modeling, risk assessment, environmental benchmarking, and the management of chemical pollutants, birds are a significant class of vertebrates to take into account. In the past, it has been documented those birds are among the species that experience negative effects from pollution. (Ball and Truskewycz, 2013).
During the 1850s industrial revolution, reports of manmade environmental pollutants harming birds and other species started to mount. These reports included cases of hydrogen sulfide fumes near oil fields, industrial smokestack emission toxicity, and arsenic and lead poisoning. Birds have long been utilized as sentinel species because of their great chemical sensitivity, which makes them effective bioindicators of environmental contamination (Ball and Truskewycz, 2013).
Fowls are in a perfect world suited to comprehend and evaluate the ultimate destiny and ecotoxicological results of natural compounds in differing settings since they are plenteous pinnacle predators in a assortment of environments. They can help within the progression of comparable investigation in other vertebrates. Because of their tall trophic position, long life expectancy, and huge scavenging territories that permit for spatiotemporal introduction and ecotoxicological destiny evaluations of pertinent chemicals, winged creatures of prey are frequently utilized as sentinels for natural contamination. Fowls have generally been uncovered to a wide run of toxins. One of the foremost well-known cases is the enormous worldwide decrease in raptor populaces caused by eggshell diminishing after presentation to dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). Intense inebriation from poisons regularly appears like a less strong and quick danger, but extreme indirect toxic impacts, basically agrochemicals, on farmland fowls are depicted as drivers of population decline (Bartonitz et al., 2020).
Other threats at the population level associated with chemical exposure have been reported for avian taxa, such as global lead poisonings of raptor and waterbird species. Nevertheless, as of right now, no comprehensive long-term survey has been conducted on birds, either individually or in populations, to evaluate the short- or long-term impacts of the several chemicals or chemical mixes.
2. Fundamental toxic nature
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