Zinc and cadmium body burdens in terrestrial oligochaetes: Use and significance in environmental risk assessment

Uptake and elimination kinetics of zinc and cadmium were studied in the oligochaetes Enchytraeus albidus and Eisenia fetida. Even at the highest exposure concentrations where E. fetida survived, the internal zinc concentration was still regulated to a constant level. Enchytraeus albidus could not regulate the internal zinc concentration as well, and the body burden increased after exposure to high zinc concentrations. After transfer to clean soil, the internal zinc concentration dropped back to the control level within a few weeks. For both species, internal cadmium concentrations did not reach equilibrium during the uptake experiments. The internal concentrations causing 50% reduction in cocoon production for E. fetida exposed to cadmium varied between different soil types, indicating that no fixed critical body burdens exist. For both zinc and cadmium, bioaccumulation factors decreased with increasing soil metal concentrations. Bioaccumulation factors may therefore be poor indicators of environmental risk. Their dependence on the total soil concentration makes bioaccumulation factors also unsuitable for assessing the influence of soil characteristics on the bioavailability of metals in contaminated field soils. For the same reason, uptake rate constants are probably not suited for this purpose.

[1]  C. Janssen,et al.  Multivariate test designs to assess the influence of zinc and cadmium bioavailability in soils on the toxicity to Enchytraeus albidus , 2000 .

[2]  L. Posthuma,et al.  Relating environmental availability to bioavailability: soil-type-dependent metal accumulation in the oligochaete Eisenia andrei. , 1999, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[3]  J. Beauchamp,et al.  Literature‐derived bioaccumulation models for earthworms: Development and validation , 1999 .

[4]  S. Sahu,et al.  Accumulation of zinc and its effects on the growth, reproduction and life cycle of Drawida willsi (Oligochaeta), a dominant earthworm in Indian crop fields , 1999, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[5]  L. Posthuma,et al.  Prediction of metal bioavailability in Dutch field soils for the oligochaete Enchytraeus crypticus. , 1999, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[6]  D. Spurgeon,et al.  Comparisons of metal accumulation and excretion kinetics in earthworms (Eisenia fetida) exposed to contaminated field and laboratory soils , 1999 .

[7]  L. Posthuma,et al.  Equilibrium partitioning of heavy metals in dutch field soils. II. Prediction of metal accumulation in earthworms , 1997 .

[8]  S. Sheppard,et al.  Depuration and uptake kinetics of I, Cs, Mn, Zn and Cd by the earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) in radiotracer‐spiked litter , 1997 .

[9]  W J Peijnenburg,et al.  A conceptual framework for implementation of bioavailability of metals for environmental management purposes. , 1997, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[10]  C. Svendsen,et al.  Relevance and applicability of a simple earthworm biomarker of copper exposure. I. Links to ecological effects in a laboratory study with Eisenia andrei. , 1997, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[11]  P. Chapman,et al.  Policy Analysis, Peer Reviewed: Evaluation of Bioaccumulation Factors in Regulating Metals , 1996 .

[12]  P. Chapman,et al.  Evaluation of bioaccumulation factors in regulating metals , 1996 .

[13]  D. Roane,et al.  Cadmium disposition in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. , 1995, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[14]  R. Loehr,et al.  Bioconcentration and biokinetics of heavy metals in the earthworm. , 1995, Environmental pollution.

[15]  T. Crommentuijn,et al.  Lethal body concentrations and accumulation patterns determine time‐dependent toxicity of cadmium in soil arthropods , 1994 .

[16]  J. V. Wensem,et al.  Soil quality criteria derived from critical body concentrations of metals in soil invertebrates , 1994 .

[17]  L S McCarty,et al.  Residue-based interpretation of toxicity and bioconcentration QSARs from aquatic bioassays: polar narcotic organics. , 1992, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

[18]  C. Gestel,et al.  Accumulation and elimination of cadmium, chromium and zinc and effects on growth and reproduction in Eisenia andrei (Oligochaeta, Annelida). , 1993 .

[19]  D. Mackay,et al.  An equation describing the time course and variability in uptake and toxicity of narcotic chemicals to fish , 1992 .

[20]  A. Morgan,et al.  Accumulation of heavy metals from polluted soils by the earthworm, Lumbricus rubellus: can laboratory exposure of 'control' worms reduce biomonitoring problems? , 1991, Environmental pollution.

[21]  C. V. Van Gestel,et al.  Development of a standardized reproduction toxicity test with the earthworm species Eisenia fetida andrei using copper, pentachlorophenol and 2,4-dichloroaniline. , 1989, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[22]  A. Morgan,et al.  Earthworms as biological monitors of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in metalliferous soils. , 1988, Environmental pollution.

[23]  W. Beyer,et al.  Relation of pH and other soil variables to concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Se in earthworms , 1987 .

[24]  W. Ma,et al.  Uptake of cadmium, zinc, lead, and copper by earthworms near a zinc-smelting complex: Influence of soil pH and organic matter , 1983, Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[25]  Frank Moriarty,et al.  Ecotoxicology: The study of pollutants in ecosystems , 1983 .

[26]  M. A. Wright,et al.  Lead, zinc and cadmium content of earthworms from pasture in the vicinity of an industrial smelting complex , 1980 .

[27]  C. Stephan.  Methods for Calculating an LC 50 , 1977 .