Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns of Metal Accumulation by Natural River Biofilms During Their Growth and Seasonal Succession

  • Published:
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To evaluate the factors influencing patterns of metal accumulation by river biofilms, concentrations of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) in biofilms from Erh-Jen River and San-Yeh-Kung Creek were investigated during their growth and seasonal succession. Different metal-accumulation patterns during biofilm development were observed between the two rivers. Mature biofilms (grown for 21–28 days) in both rivers showed maximum metal accumulation (≤3.24 × 104, 1.55 × 104, 7.40 × 103, and 7.80 × 102 μg g−1 of Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb, respectively) and bioconcentration factors (≤7.15 × 105, 1.60 × 105, 2.60 × 105, and 4.22 × 105 l kg−1 of Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb, respectively). These types of biofilms had the characteristics of being good metal accumulators and the ability to integrate metal-exposure conditions, suggesting that they were suitable biomonitors for metal-contaminated water. Seasonal succession in metal-accumulation ability of 1-month-old biofilms from Erh-Jen River was mainly affected by changes in bacterial and algal biomass and chemical oxygen demand in water, whereas that from San-Yeh-Kung Creek was primary influenced by concentrations of total nitrogen in water. Synergistic interaction between these four metals on metal-binding sites within biofilms was also shown.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Admiraal W, Blanck H, Buckert-de Jong M, Guasch H, Ivorra N, Lehmann V et al (1999) Short-term toxicity of zinc to microbenthic algae and bacteria in a metal polluted stream. Water Res 33:1989–1996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amemiya Y, Nakayama O (1984) The chemical composition and metal adsorption capacity of the sheath materials isolated from Microcystis, Cyanobacteria. Jap J Limnol 45:187–193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barranguet C, Plans M, wan der Grinten E, Sinke JJ, Admiraal W (2002) Development of photosynthetic biofilms affected by dissolved and sorbed copper in a europhic river. Environ Toxicol Chem 21:1955–1965

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borchardt MA, Bott TL (1995) Meiofaunal grazing of bacteria and algae in a piedmont stream. J N Am Benthol Soc 14:278–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradac P, Wagner B, Kistler D, Traber J, Behra R, Sigg L (2010) Cadmium speciation and accumulation in periphyton in a small stream with dynamic concentration variations. Environ Pollut 158:641–648

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen JH, Lion W, Ghiorse WC, Shuler ML (1995) Mobilization of adsorbed cadmium and lead in aquifer material by bacterial extracellular polymers. Water Res 29:421–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clements WH, Kiffney PM (1994) Integrated laboratory and field approach for assessing impacts of heavy metals at the Arkansas River, Colorado. Environ Toxicol Chem 13:397–404

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies CM, Apte SC, Johnstone AL (1998) A bacteria bioassay for the assessment of copper bioavailability in freshwater. Environ Toxicol Water Qual 13:263–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong D, Nelson YM, Lion LW, Shuler L, Ghiorse WC (2000) Adsorption of Pb and Cd onto metal oxides and organic material in natural surface coatings as determined by selective extractions: new evidence for the importance of Mn and Fe oxides. Water Res 34:427–436

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong D, Derry LA, Lion LW (2003) Pb scavenging from a freshwater lake by Mn oxides in heterogeneous surface coating materials. Water Res 37:1662–1666

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duong TT, Morin S, Herlory O, Feurtet-Mazel A, Coste M, Boudou A (2008) Seasonal effects of cadmium accumulation in periphytic diatom communities of freshwater biofilms. Aquat Toxicol 90:19–28

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duong TT, Morin S, Coste M, Herlory O, Feurtet-Mazel A, Boudou A (2010) Experimental toxicity and bioaccumulation of cadmium in freshwater periphytic diatoms in relation with biofilm maturity. Sci Total Environ 408:552–562

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farag AM, Nimick DA, Kimball BA, Church SE, Harper DD, Brumbough WG (2007) Concentrations of metals in water, sediment, biofilm, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish in the Boulder River watershed, Montana, and the role of colloids in metal uptake. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 52:397–409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flemming H-C (1995) Sorption sites in biofilms. Water Sci Technol 32:27–33

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Friant SL, Koerner H (1981) Use of an in situ artificial substrate for biological accumulation and monitoring of aqueous trace metals: a preliminary field investigation. Water Res 15:161–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs S, Haritopoulou T, Wihelmi M (1996) Biofilms in freshwater ecosystems and their use as a pollutant monitor. Water Sci Technol 34:137–140

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs S, Haritopoulou T, Schäfer M, Wihelmi M (1997) Heavy metals in freshwater ecosystems introduced by urban rainwater runoff-monitoring of suspended solids, river sediments and biofilms. Water Sci Technol 36:277–282

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goller CC, Romeo T (2008) Environmental influences on biofilm development. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 322:37–66

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gray BR, Hill WR (1995) Nickel sorption by periphyton exposed to different light intensities. J N Am Benthol Soc 14:299–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerra-García JM, Ruiz-Tabares A, Baeza-Rojano E, Cabezas MP, Díaz-Pavón JJ, Pacios I et al (2010) Trace metals in Caprella (Crustacea: Amphipoda). A new tool for monitoring pollution in coastal areas. Ecol Indic 10:734–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodoki Y (2005) Bacteria biofilm encourages algal immigration onto substrata in lotic systems. Hydrobiologia 539:27–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivorra N, Bremer S, Guasch H, Kraak MJS, Admiraal W (2000) Differences in the sensitivity of benthic microalgal to Zn and Cd regarding biofilm development and exposure history. Environ Toxicol Chem 19:1332–1339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kröpfl K, Záray G, Ács É (2003) Investigation of lead and nickel contaminated natural biofilms. Spectrochim Acta Part B At Spectrosc 58:2177–2181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kupe L, Schanz F, Bachofen R (2008) Biodiversity in the benthic diatom community in the upper River Töss reflected in water quality indices. Clean 36:84–91

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu D, Lau YL, Chau Y, Pacepavicius GJ (1993) Characterization of biofilm development on artificial substratum in natural water. Water Res 27:361–367

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mages M, Óvári M Jr, WvT KrisztinaKröpfl (2004) Biofilms as bio-indicator for polluted waters? Anal Bioanal Chem 378:1095–1101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mages M, von Tümpling jun W, van der Veen A, Baborowski M (2006) Elemental determination in natural biofilms of mine drainage water by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Spectrochim Acta Part B 61:1146–1152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marín-Guirao L, Atucha AM, Barba JL, López EM, Fernández AJG (2005) Effects of mining wastes on a seagrass ecosystem: metal accumulation and bioavailability, seagrass dynamics and associated community structure. Mar Environ Res 60:317–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman MC, Alberts JJ, Greenhut VA (1985) Geochemical factors complicating the use of aufwuchs to monitor bioaccumulation of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper and zinc. Water Res 19:1157–1165

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nieboer E, Richardson HS (1980) The replacement of the nondescript term ‘heavy metal’ by a biologically and chemically significant classification of metal ions. Environ Pollut 1:3–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nourbakhsh MN, Kiliçarslan S, Ilhan S, Ozdag H (2002) Biosorption of Cr6+, Pb2+ and Cu2+ ions in industrial waste water on Bacillus sp. Chem Eng J 85:351–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pokrovsky OS, Feurtet-Mazel A, Martinez RE, Morin S, Baudrimont M, Duong T, Coste M (2010) Experimental study of cadmium interaction with periphytic biofilms. Appl Geochem 25:418–427

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scott JA, Sage GK, Palmer SJ (1988) Metal immobilisation by microbial capsular coatings. Biorecovery 1:51–58

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Serra A, Corcoll N, Guasch H (2009) Copper accumulation and toxicity in fluvial periphyton: the influence of exposure history. Chemosphere 74:633–641

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi B, Allen HE, Grassi MT, Huizhong MA (1998) Modelling copper partitioning in surface waters. Water Res 32:3756–3764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soininen J (2002) Responses of epilithic diatom communities to environmental gradients in some Finnish rivers. Int Rev Hydrobiol 87:11–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinman AD (1992) Does an increase in irradiance influence periphyton in a heavily-grazed woodland stream? Oecologia 91:163–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tien C-J (2002) Biosorption of metal ions by freshwater algae with different surface characteristics. Process Biochem 38:605–613

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tien C-J (2004) Some aspects of water quality in a polluted lowland river in relation to the intracellular chemical levels in planktonic and epilithic diatoms. Water Res 38:1779–1790

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tien C-J, Wu W-H, Chuang T-L, Chen CS (2009) Development of river biofilms on artificial substrates and their potential for biomonitoring water quality. Chemosphere 76:1288–1295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tsezos M, Remoudake E, Angelatou V (1996) A study of effects of competing ions on the biosorption of metals. Int Biodeter Biodegr 38:19–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Villares R, Puente X, Carballeira A (2002) Seasonal variation and background levels of heavy metals in two green seaweeds. Environ Pollut 119:79–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Villeneuve A, Montuelle B, Bouchez A (2010) Influence of slight differences in environmental conditions (light, hydrodynamics) on the structure and function of periphyton. Aquat Sci 72:33–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Žáková Z, Kočková E (1999) Biomonitoring and assessment of heavy metal contamination of heavy metal contamination of stream and reservoirs in the Dyje/Thaya river basin, Czech Republic. Water Sci Technol 39:225–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Pan X, Mostofa KMG, Chen X, Mu G, Wu F et al (2010) Complexation between Hg(II) and biofilm extracellular polymeric substances: An application of fluorescence spectroscopy. J Hazard Mater 175:359–365

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Science Council, Taiwan (Project No. NSC92-2313-B-273-001). We thank S.-J. Jiang for ICP-MS analyses.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, National Kaohsiung Normal University, 62, Shen-Chung Road, Yanchao, Kaohsiung, 824, Taiwan

    Chien-Jung Tien & Colin S. Chen

Authors
  1. Chien-Jung Tien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Colin S. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colin S. Chen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tien, CJ., Chen, C.S. Patterns of Metal Accumulation by Natural River Biofilms During Their Growth and Seasonal Succession. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 64, 605–616 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9856-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9856-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation