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Baseline trace metals in gastropod mollusks from the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia, Argentina)

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Abstract

With the aim to evaluate the mollusk Nacella (P)magellanica as biomonitor of elemental pollution in seawater of the Beagle Channel, more than one hundred individuals of the gastropod were sampled, separated in viscera and muscle, and then examined with respect to the accumulation of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Collection was performed in seven strategic locations along 170 km of the coastal area of the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) in two campaigns during 2005 and 2007. Samples of surrounding seawater in the different sites were obtained and tested for the same metals as well. The accumulation capacity of Nacella (P)magellanica and thus its aptitude as biomonitor, was evaluated through the calculus of the preconcentration factors of the metals assayed. A discussion involving the comparison with other mollusks previously tested will be given. Several statistical approaches able to analyze data with environmental purposes were applied. Non parametric univariate tests such as Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney were carried out to assess the changes of the metal concentrations with time (2005 and 2007) in each location. Multivariate methods (linear discriminant analysis on PCA factors) were also applied to obtain a more reliable site classification. Johnson’s probabilistic method was carried out for comparison between different geographical areas. The possibility of employing these results as heavy metals′ background levels of seawater from the Beagle Channel will be debated.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Javier Omar Giordano and his team for their support during our stays in Tierra del Fuego. This work was financially supported by project prot. C26F09TP2K—2009, project prot. C26A104LN5—2010 of Sapienza, University of Rome, Italy, University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, University of Rome, Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Marcelo Enrique Conti

  2. International Academy of Environmental Sciences (IAES), Campo della Chiesa 3, Sant’Elena, 30122, Venice, Italy

    Marcelo Enrique Conti

  3. INQUIMAE, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Jorge Stripeikis & Mabel Beatriz Tudino

  4. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Via di Casalotti 300, 00166, Rome, Italy

    Maria Grazia Finoia

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  1. Marcelo Enrique Conti
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  2. Jorge Stripeikis
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  3. Maria Grazia Finoia
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  4. Mabel Beatriz Tudino
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Correspondence to Marcelo Enrique Conti.

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Conti, M.E., Stripeikis, J., Finoia, M.G. et al. Baseline trace metals in gastropod mollusks from the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia, Argentina). Ecotoxicology 21, 1112–1125 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-012-0866-7

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