Accumulation of metal(loid)s in the digestive gland of the mussel Unio crassus Philipsson, 1788: A reliable detection of historical freshwater contamination

Kiralj, Zoran; Dragun, Zrinka; Lajtner, Jasna; Trgovčić, Krešimira; Valić, Damir; Ivanković, Dušica (2023) Accumulation of metal(loid)s in the digestive gland of the mussel Unio crassus Philipsson, 1788: A reliable detection of historical freshwater contamination. Environmental Pollution, 334 . ISSN 1873-6424

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Abstract

The possible influence of historical contamination of water/sediments on the metal(loid) bioaccumulation in the digestive gland of mussel Unio crassus Philipsson, 1788, from two differently contaminated sites at the Mrežnica River was studied in three seasons. The first data for this species on total/cytosolic concentrations of 27 (non) essential elements were obtained by HR ICP-MS. Higher bioaccumulation was observed at the historically contaminated site, with several nonessential elements (Bi, Cs, Pb, Sb, Tl, U) found in 5–6 times higher concentrations compared to the reference site. Although both total and cytosolic levels revealed the influence of water/sediment contamination, the latter showed association between bioaccumulation and exposure for larger number of studied elements. At the reference site, several elements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Mn, Sr) were also found in 2–10 times higher concentrations compared to contaminated one, but it was attributed to background levels characteristic for karst rivers (for Ca and Cd), and to coaccumulation due to chemical similarity (for Ba, Cr, Mn, Sr). The seasonal variability was also observed, with generally highest metal(loid) concentrations in mussel digestive glands found in autumn which was associated to mussels reproductive period. Our results confirmed that sediment-dwelling mussels, specifically U. crassus, represent a good bioindicators for detection of historical pollution due to their direct contact/exposure to contaminants stored in sediments, with concurrent consideration of physiological/chemical factors. Historical contamination potentially can have serious impact on freshwater environment even long time after its cessation, and, therefore, a careful continuous monitoring is recommended.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Bioaccumulation; Bivalve; Freshwater; Long-term pollution; Subcellular distribution; Trace elements
Subjects:	NATURAL SCIENCES > Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences
Divisions:	Division for Marine and Enviromental Research
Projects:	Project title Project leader Project code Project type Biomolekule koje vežu metale i zdravstveni poremećaji kod slatkovodnih organizama izloženih industrijskom otpadu-METABIOM Zrinka Dragun IP-2019-04-2636 UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Zoran Kiralj
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2023 07:55
URI:	http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/8125
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122164

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