Influence of age, habitat elevation, and distance to a thermal power plant on pathomorphological findings in the European brown hare (Lepuseuropaeus P.)

Abstract

The lifespan of the European hare (Lepus europaeus P.) is affected by a number of negative factors, including pollutants. In this paper, the individual and joint influence of age and habitat (elevation and distance from the thermal power plant - TPP) on pathomorphological findings of hares shot during three hunting seasons was investigated. Pathomorphological changes were found in 95.12% of hares. In hares up to 1 year of age, the changes were predominant in the lungs, and in older hares, in the kidneys. Degenerative changes in kidneys and liver and inflammatory changes in kidneys and lungs were considered important most in discussing the influence of chemical pollution. The proximity of TPP influenced the type of changes in the liver. A significant joint effect of age and elevation on the type of changes in the lungs of adult hares and on the heart of young hares was found. Elevation and distance from TPP had a joint effect on the occurrence of changes in the lungs, intestines, and heart in hares from the field farther from TPP. The results indicate that the hares were highly exposed to chemical pollutants that may affect their immunity, and lifespan.

Keywords: European hare; age; elevation; environmental pollution; pathomorphology; thermal power plant.

Figure 1.

Location of hunting grounds in relation to thermal power plants: a large map shows the location of thermal power plants and hunting grounds in Serbia (framed part) in relation to neighboring countries; the small map represents an enlarged, framed part of the large map, with a scale that provides information about the distance between thermal power plants (TPP - black dots), hunting grounds near the TPP - red dots and hunting grounds located at a greater distance from the TPP - white dots (source of the map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/about).