Metal elements, ubiquitous in the environment, can cause negative effects in long-lived organisms even after low but prolonged exposure. Insectivorous bats living near metal emission sources can be vulnerable to such contaminants. Although it is known that bats can bioaccumulate metals, little information exists on the effects of metal elements on their physiological status. For example, oxidative status markers are known to vary after detoxification processes and immune reactions. Here, for two consecutive summers, we sampled individuals from a natural population of the insectivorous bat, Myotis daubentonii, inhabiting a site close to a metal emission source. We quantified metals and metalloids (As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn) from individual fecal pellets. We measured enzymatic antioxidants (GP, CAT, SOD), total glutathione (tGSH) and ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH:GSSG) from their red blood cells together with biometrics, hematocrit and parasite prevalence. In general, metal concentrations in feces of M. daubentonii reflected the exposure to ambient contamination. This was especially evident in the higher concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu and Ni close to a smelter compared to a site with less contaminant exposure. Annual differences were also observed for most elements quantified. Sex-specific differences were observed for calcium and zinc excretion. SOD and CAT enzymatic activities were associated with metal levels (principal components of six metal elements), suggesting early signs of chronic stress in bats. The study also shows promise for the use of non-invasive sampling to assess the metal exposure on an individual basis and metal contamination in the environment.

在环境中无处不在的金属元素，即使经过长时间但长时间的低暴露，也可能对长寿命的生物体造成负面影响。生活在金属排放源附近的食虫蝙蝠可能容易受到此类污染物的伤害。尽管已知蝙蝠可以生物富集金属，但是关于金属元素对其生理状态的影响的信息很少。例如，已知氧化状态标志物在排毒过程和免疫反应后发生变化。在这里，连续两个夏天，我们从食虫蝙蝠Myotis daubentonii的自然种群中抽取了个体，居住在靠近金属排放源的地点。我们从单个粪便颗粒中定量了金属和准金属（As，Ca，Cd，Co，Cu，Mn，Ni，Pb，Se，Zn）。我们从其红细胞中测量了酶促抗氧化剂（GP，CAT，SOD），总谷胱甘肽（tGSH）以及还原型和氧化型谷胱甘肽之间的比率（GSH：GSSG）以及生物测定，血细胞比容和寄生虫患病率。一般而言，杜宾分枝杆菌的粪便中的金属浓度反映了暴露于环境污染的情况。与污染物接触较少的地点相比，靠近冶炼厂的Cd，Co，Cu和Ni的浓度较高，这一点尤其明显。多数量化元素的年度差异也被观察到。观察到钙和锌排泄的性别特异性差异。SOD和CAT的酶促活性与金属含量（六个金属元素的主要成分）有关，这表明蝙蝠长期处于应激状态。这项研究还显示了使用无创采样技术评估个体金属暴露和环境中金属污染的希望。