Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in terrestrial invertebrates
Introduction
Invertebrates are in close contact with contaminants in the soil compartment. Many mammals and birds eat invertebrates and risk assessment for these animals should include the food preference and metal concentration in the food. Accumulation data in Lumbricidae are commonly used in risk assessments for invertebrate eating animals (Romein et al., 1991, Balk et al., 1993). This approach neglects possible differences in bioaccumulation between invertebrate species. Variability can be expected because of the variation in morphology, physiology, behaviour, habitat and food preference between invertebrate species. The aim of this study was: (1) to collect and compare the accumulation levels of metals in invertebrate species; (2) to calculate regression equations for metal accumulation in terrestrial invertebrates based on total soil concentration and body concentration, which can be used for risk assessment for higher animals; and (3) to find out whether or not accumulation levels of metals in Lumbricidae are representative for all terrestrial invertebrates.
Following this objective, a literature study was carried out. Research in metal accumulation is usually focused on Lumbricidae, leading to a limited amount of information about other invertebrates (Morgan and morgan, 1988, Van Gestel et al., 1995, Spurgeon and Hopkin, 1996). Nevertheless, accumulation data about Arthropoda are available and some differences between species have been described (Larsen et al., 1994, Butovsky, 1998, Gongsalskii and Butovsky, 1998). Bioaccumulation data are mainly available about cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). In this study, bioaccumulation data from several field studies are combined. First, the composition of the database will be shown. Second, some general results will be presented, followed by the accumulation patterns of the organisms for each metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn). Finally, the results will be discussed and the regression equations for Lumbricidae will be compared with those found in other accumulation studies on Lumbricidae.
Section snippets
Methods
An on-line literature search was conducted in Aquasci (Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts), Biosis, Chemical Abstracts and Scisearch (including the Science Citation Index and Current Contents). In the search, keywords were used from the categories soil, organism and metal. Publications had to include metal concentrations in soil and organism, several taxonomic groups, various metals and a range of soil concentrations. Furthermore, only field studies were used. The on-line literature
Results
Accumulation data about Arthropoda and Lumbricidae for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were found (Van Straalen and Van Wensem, 1986, Hunter et al. 1987, Janssen, 1988, Janssen and Hogervorst, 1993, Rabitsch, 1995a, Rrabitsch, 1995b, Rabitsch, 1995c, Janssen et al., 1997b). These groups represent a large part of terrestrial invertebrates. No suitable data were found for terrestrial Mollusca (snails and slugs). Most of the study areas were near a metal factory. In most of these studies, limited attention was
Discussion
In this literature study, accumulation data of metals in terrestrial invertebrates were collected and compared. First, the taxonomic groups could be ordered according to the accumulation level, although the variance in internal concentration within a group was usually high. Second, the internal Pb, Cd and Cu concentrations increased for most taxonomic groups with increasing soil concentrations. In contrast, body concentrations of Zn were quite constant over a range in soil concentrations.
Conclusions
This study showed the possibility to classify taxonomic groups with respect to the extend of metal accumulation, although it should be kept in mind that the data for the Lumbricidae were derived from a laboratory experiment. Significant differences in accumulation level of a factor 2–12 were found. Overall, metal concentrations were high in Isopoda, intermediate in Lumbricidae, and low in Coleoptera.
The internal Pb, Cd and Cu concentration increased with the soil concentration for most
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to N.M. van Straalen (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) and T. Schröder (Institute for Inland Water Management and Wastewater treatment, Lelystad) for discussing the subject and their comments on the manuscript, Mrs. R. van Leeuwen for assistance with the on-line literature search, J.A.J. Faber (Center for Biostatistics, Universiteit Utrecht) and C.P.M. Geerse (Institute for Inland Water Management and Wastewater treatment, Lelystad) for statistical advice.
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