Comparing Trace Element Bioaccumulation and Depuration in Snails and Mayfly Nymphs at a Coal Ash–Contaminated Site

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2020-12, Vol.39 (12), p.2437-2449
• Main Authors: Pouil, Simon, Jones, Nikki J., Smith, John G., Mandal, Shovon, Griffiths, Natalie A., Mathews, Teresa J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic insects; Aquatic invertebrates; Aquatic organisms; Arsenic - analysis; Arsenic - metabolism; Bioaccumulation; Coal Ash - analysis; Depuration; Environmental Monitoring; Ephemeroptera - metabolism; Fly ash; Food Chain; Food chains; Food webs; Gastropoda; Hexagenia bilineata; Invertebrates; Life Sciences; Metal; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - metabolism; Mollusks; Nymph - metabolism; Pleurocera canaliculatum; RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT; Rivers - chemistry; Selenium; Snails; Snails - metabolism; Tennessee; Trace elements; Trace Elements - analysis; Trace Elements - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.4857

We examined the bioaccumulation of essential (Cu, Fe, Se, and Zn) and nonessential (As and Hg) trace elements in 2 aquatic invertebrate species (adult snails and mayfly nymphs) with different feeding habits at the site of a coal ash spill. Differences in food web pathway, exposure concentrations, and biological processing affected bioaccumulation patterns in these species. Mayflies had higher body burdens, but snails had higher retention of most elements studied. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:2437–2449. © 2020 SETAC Trace element bioaccumulation and depuration rates in mayfly nymphs (Hexagenia bilineata) and adult silty horn snails (Pleurocera canaliculatum) collected from upstream (reference) and downstream (ash‐affected) from the site of the Tennessee Valley Authority's coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, USA.