Biomonitoring of benzophenones in guano samples of wild bats in Poland

Abstract

Benzophenones (BPs) are substances used in the production of sunscreens, cosmetics, and personal care products. However, there is a lack of knowledge of BPs in wild animals. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the concentration of selected BPs commonly used in the cosmetic industry in guano samples collected from 4 colonies of greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis). Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to determine guano concentrations of benzophenone 1 (BP-1), benzophenone 2 (BP-2), benzophenone 3 (BP-3) and benzophenone 8 (BP-8). BP-1 levels above the method quantification limit (MQL) were noted in 97.5% of samples and fluctuated from <0.1 ng/g to 259 ng/g (mean 41.50 ng/g, median 34.8). The second most common was BP-3, which fluctuated from <0.1 ng/g to 19 ng/g (mean 6.67 ng/g, median 5.05), and its levels higher than MQL were observed in 40% of samples. BP-2 and BP-8 concentrations did not exceed the method detection limit (0.04 ng/g) in any analyzed sample. There were visible differences in the BP-1 and BP-3 levels among the studied bat colonies. Mean BP-1 concentration fluctuated from 11.23±13.13 ng/g to 76.71±65.51 ng/g and differed significantly between the colonies. Mean BP-3 concentration fluctuated from 5.03±6.03 ng/g to 9.18±7.65 mg/g, but it did not differ significantly between the colonies. The results show that guano is a suitable matrix for the assessment of wildlife exposure to BPs. This could be particularly advantageous in protected species, where not disturbing and stressing the animals are crucial.

Fig 1

Structure of studied benzophenones (BPs): A) BP-1; B) BP-2; C) BP-3; D) BP-8.

Fig 2

Localization of studied bat colonies 1) Brenna; 2) Śliwice; 3) Pulawy; 4) Opole Lubelskie.

Fig 3

Mean concentration (±SD) of benzophenone 1 (BP-1) (A) and benzophenone 3 (BP-3) (B) in studied bat colonies. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were marked with different letters, values not showing such differences—with the same letters. Bat colony in Brenna (1), Sliwice (2), Pulawy (3) and Opole Lubelskie (4). The figure was created using GraphPad Prism version 9.2.0 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, California USA).