Lead levels in the bones of snow voles Chionomys nivalis (Martins, 1842) (Rodentia) from European Mountains: A comparative study of populations from the Tatra (Slovakia), Vitosha and Rila (Bulgaria)

Snow voles (Chionomys nivalis) were bait-trapped in the Tatra Mountains, Western Carpathians, Slovakia, and Vitosha and Rila Mountains, Bulgaria. Lead (Pb) content in the tail vertebrae was determined. Adult voles were bait-trapped and sampled in September - October (Slovakia 2009-2010, Bulgaria 2009). The sampling yielded a total of 33 animals from Slovakia and 24 from Bulgaria. Lead concentrations in bones of voles from the Rila and Vitosha Mountains were approximately three-fold lower than in bones of voles from the Tatra Mountains. The concentration of lead in the bones of voles from Rila Mountains was statistically indistinguishable from that of vole bones from Vitosha Mountains. The content of lead in the bones of voles indicates that the Western Carpathians are one of the most polluted with lead alpine regions in Europe. The usefulness of snow voles as a bioindicator of environmental contamination in alpine ecosystems was highly recognised. At regional as well as at global scale, this species is a suitable biological indicator of the environmental hazards of lead pollution.