Mercure, arsenic et sélénium au Burkina Faso : bioaccumulation, transfert trophique dans les systèmes aquatiques et évaluation de bioaccessibilité chez les humains

L’extraction aurifère est l’une des activités humaines qui a fortement accru l’émission de contaminants métalliques dans l’environnement. Le mercure (Hg), l’arsenic (As) et le sélénium (Se) sont 3 polluants métalliques de grande toxicité environnementale. En milieu aquatique, ils peuvent subir des transformations menant à des composés capables de bioaccumulation et de bioamplification. Il peut en résulter des concentrations 106 fois celle mesurée dans l’eau chez les poissons et les organismes situés en haut des chaînes alimentaires posant de ce fait de graves menaces pour la santé de ces organismes ainsi que leurs consommateurs y compris les humains. Cette étude a évalué les teneurs en Hg, As et Se dans les milieux aquatiques au Burkina Faso, une région d’Afrique sub-saharienne soumise à une exploitation minière intensive. Le risque potentiel pour les organismes aquatiques et les humains a été évalué en considérant les effets des interactions antagonistes Se/Hg et As/Se. La bioaccumulation et le transfert du Hg et du Se dans les réseaux trophiques sont également décrits. L’exposition au Hg de poissons par les humains a été également évalué au laboratoire par mesure de la bioaccessibilité comme équivalent de la biodisponibilité par simulation de la digestion humaine. En général, les milieux aquatiques étudiés étaient peu affectés par ces 3 métal(loïd)s bien que certaines espèces de poisson issus des réservoirs les plus profonds indiquent des teneurs de Hg au dessus de 500 ngHg/g (poids frais) recommandé par l’OMS. Ces niveaux sont susceptibles de présenter des risques toxicologiques pour les poissons et pour leurs consommateurs. En considérant l’antagonisme Se/Hg, 99 % des échantillons de poisson seraient moins exposés à la toxicité du Hg dû à la présence simultanée du sélénium dans le milieu et pourraient être consommés sans risque. Cependant, les effets potentiels de l’antagonisme As/Se pourraient réduire les effets bénéfiques du Se et ramener cette proportion à 83 %. L’application des mesures de signatures en isotopes stables d’azote (δ15N) et de carbone (δ13C) des organismes aquatiques a permis le traçage des voies de transfert du Hg et du Se dans les réseaux trophiques. On y observe des chaînes trophiques très courtes (3 - 4 niveaux trophiques) et des poissons majoritairement benthiques. L’approche isotopique n’a cependant pas permis de détecter les variations saisonnières des niveaux de contamination en Hg des poissons. L’exploration des contenus stomacaux des poissons a permis de mieux expliquer la baisse des concentrations en Hg et Se observées chez certains poissons au cours de la saison sèche en lien avec la variation de la composition des proies que l’analyse isotopique n’a pas cerné. L’étude suggère que l’analyse de contenus stomacaux ainsi que l’étude de la dynamique des communautés d’invertébrés couplées à celle des métaux pourraient améliorer la compréhension du fonctionnement des écosystèmes étudiés. Enfin, l’évaluation expérimentale de l’exposition au Hg indique que les modes de traitement avant consommation ainsi que l’usage de composés alimentaires tels le thé, le café lors de repas de poisson par certaines communautés humaines ont un impact sur la bioaccessibilité du Hg de poisson. Ces résultats, sous réserve de validation par des modèles animaux, suggèrent la prise en compte des habitudes alimentaires des communautés dans l’élaboration adéquat des avis de consommation de poisson.Mining of gold is one of the human activities that have increased the inputs of trace elements into the environment. Mercury (Hg) arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) are trace elements that are of environmental importance. Under aquatic environmental conditions, they can be transformed into organic forms which can bioaccumulate through aquatic food webs to reach high concentrations in predatory fish posing harmful effects to wildlife and humans due to their toxicological properties. This study assessed mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) levels in aquatic systems and their potential health risk for humans and wildlife in African sub-Saharan region of Burkina Faso where small scale gold mining practices are widespread. Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of Hg and Se through food webs were also assessed. Human Hg exposure from fish consumption was also assessed in vitro by measure of bioaccessibility as proxy of Hg bioavailability to improve risk assessment. Water and fish levels of these elements were relatively low and did not reveal an important impact of gold mining activities. However some fish, mainly from deepest reservoirs, exhibited Hg concentrations above the international marketing limit of 500 ngHg/g (w.w.) recommended by WHO/FAO. These levels may be harmful for these fish and their predators including human. However, when taking into account the antagonistic effect of Se on Hg toxicity, up to 99 % of all fish could be protected from Hg toxicity by their Se content. When considering both As/Se and Se/Hg antagonism, 83% instead the 99% of fish should be considered safe for consumption. Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) allowed us to draw food webs structure and pathways of Hg and Se bioaccumulation and biomagnification through food webs. We reported that food webs structure were similar across the three reservoirs. Many fish were found to rely on littoral habitat and were associated with short food chains (3-4 levels). However isotopic analyses were not sufficient to understand seasonal variation of Hg from fish linked to seasonal variation of main food items and subsequent analyses of gut contents suggest that stomach content analysis and invertebrate functional groups dynamics may be complementary to isotopic analysis in ecosystem dynamics studies. Bioaccessibility assessment indicated that cooking and addition of tea or coffee led to very low levels of Hg bioaccessibility suggesting that Hg bioaccessibilty from fish can be modified by cooking and by the co-ingestion of tea and coffee. These in vitro results should be further validated using in vivo approaches with animal models, thereby for each community, risk assessment should consider the impact of dietary habits on mercury bioavailability

Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer of Mercury and Selenium in African Sub-Tropical Fluvial Reservoirs Food Webs (Burkina Faso)

<div><p>The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) were investigated in sub-tropical freshwater food webs from Burkina Faso, West Africa, a region where very few ecosystem studies on contaminants have been performed. During the 2010 rainy season, samples of water, sediment, fish, zooplankton, and mollusks were collected from three water reservoirs and analysed for total Hg (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), and total Se (TSe). Ratios of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N were measured to determine food web structures and patterns of contaminant accumulation and transfer to fish. Food chain lengths (FCLs) were calculated using mean δ¹⁵N of all primary consumer taxa collected as the site-specific baseline. We report relatively low concentrations of THg and TSe in most fish. We also found in all studied reservoirs short food chain lengths, ranging from 3.3 to 3.7, with most fish relying on a mixture of pelagic and littoral sources for their diet. Mercury was biomagnified in fish food webs with an enrichment factor ranging from 2.9 to 6.5 for THg and from 2.9 to 6.6 for MeHg. However, there was no evidence of selenium biomagnification in these food webs. An inverse relationship was observed between adjusted δ¹⁵N and log-transformed Se:Hg ratios, indicating that Se has a lesser protective effect in top predators, which are also the most contaminated animals with respect to MeHg. Trophic position, carbon source, and fish total length were the factors best explaining Hg concentration in fish. In a broader comparison of our study sites with literature data for other African lakes, the THg biomagnification rate was positively correlated with FCL. We conclude that these reservoir systems from tropical Western Africa have low Hg biomagnification associated with short food chains. This finding may partly explain low concentrations of Hg commonly reported in fish from this area.</p></div

Relationship between the TMF of THg in fish food webs of African water bodies and FCL.

<p>Relationship between the TMF of THg in fish food webs of African water bodies and FCL.</p

Mean (±sd) total length, THg, MeHg, total selenium and molar ratio TSe/THg, %MeHg, δ¹⁵N (‰), δ¹³C (‰) and trophic position (TP) of fish from three freshwater reservoirs (Burkina Faso).

<p>Abbreviations: n1 is the sample size for THg, TSe analyses, n2 is the selected sample for MeHg analysis. TL refers to total length of fish.</p><p>Mean (±sd) total length, THg, MeHg, total selenium and molar ratio TSe/THg, %MeHg, δ¹⁵N (‰), δ¹³C (‰) and trophic position (TP) of fish from three freshwater reservoirs (Burkina Faso).</p

Food web structure of three freshwater reservoirs from Burkina Faso.

<p>The ratio of δ¹⁵N, indicating trophic position, and δ¹³C indicating dietary carbon source of biota in the freshwater reservoirs. Error bars = ± 1 standard deviation.</p

Map of study areas showing locations of the three reservoirs in Burkina Faso.

<p>Source: Base Nationale de Données Topographiques (BNDT), 2000 and Base de Données d’Occupation des Terres (BDOT), 2002 of Burkina Faso.</p

Frequency distribution of FCL measured in THg biomagnification studies for African water bodies.

<p>The global mean (± 1 standard deviation) of food chain length in lakes is provided as a reference (Vander Zanden and Fetzer 2007).</p

A comparison of THg biomagnification rates in different types of African water bodies.

<p>A comparison of THg biomagnification rates in different types of African water bodies.</p

Mutualism between euryhaline tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii and Chlorella sp. – implications for nano-algal production in warmwater phytoplankton-based recirculating systems

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