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Study of dung, urine, and milk of selected grazing animals as bioindicators in environmental geoscience—a case study from Mangampeta barite mining area, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India

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Abstract

The ancient scientific Sanskrit texts of Ayurveda (science of longevity) deal with waters, plants, and animals in relation to human health. Based on the studies mentioned in Ayurveda and modern literature, biological responses of grazing animals in Mangampeta barite mining area in Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, were studied. A non-mineralized Tirupati area in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, was selected for the purpose of comparison. In these areas, certain animal products of selected grazing animals were studied if they could be used as tools in mineral exploration. Samples of dung, urine, and milk from cow, bullock, she-buffalo, he-buffalo, sheep, and goat were collected from these two areas during winter and summer seasons. Goat dung was found to have lowest moisture content and highest organic matter while goat urine contained highest amounts of organic matter and ash content. All these animal products were analyzed for 11 trace elements. The concentration of trace elements released through dung, urine, and milk widely varied in different animal species with seasonal variations. The elemental concentration was higher in dung and lower in urine, when compared to that of milk. The concentration of all elements in dung, urine, and milk of all animals, in both the areas, was higher in winter than that in summer. Dung represents the metabolic process of the whole animal and reflects the dietary conditions whether fed on natural or inorganic supplement. It can be inferred that dung, urine, and milk of any animal can be used as tools in mineral exploration during winter, while during summer, only dung can be useful. The dung of goat when compared to that of the other cattle serves as a better tool in environmental studies as goat depends almost entirely on natural vegetation without human interference.

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Acknowledgments

I thank my Research Supervisor, Late Prof. E.A.V. Prasad, Department of Geology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India, but for whose inspiration and guidance this work would not have been attempted. Grateful thanks are due to Prof. B.L.K. Somayajulu, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, India, for providing necessary facilities to carry out trace element analysis. I owe a great deal to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for providing Senior Research Fellowship during the research work for Ph.D. at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  1. V. Raghu

    Present address: Andhra Pradesh State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (APSRAC), 8th Floor, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Blocks, Swarnajayanti Complex, Ameerpet, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 500 038, India

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  1. Department of Geology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, 517 502, India

    V. Raghu

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Raghu, V. Study of dung, urine, and milk of selected grazing animals as bioindicators in environmental geoscience—a case study from Mangampeta barite mining area, Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Environ Monit Assess 187, 4080 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4080-3

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