Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

This study aimed at assessing the bioavailability and toxicity of lead to Eisenia andrei in shooting range soils representing different land uses (forest, grassland, bullet plot). Soils contained 47-2398 mg Pb/kg dry weight (dw), but also had different pH-CaC

The influence of calcium and pH on the uptake and toxicity of copper in Folsomia candida exposed to simplified soil solutions.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of Ca and pH on the uptake and effects of Cu in Folsomia candida (Collembola). Assuming that soil pore water is the main route of exposure, F. candida were exposed for seven days to Cu in simplified soil solutions at different Ca concentrations and different pH levels. A hormetic-type effect was seen for the effect of Cu on F. candida survival. Toxicity of Cu was slightly decreased and Cu uptake increased at the highest Ca concentrations. Cu toxicity and uptake were not significantly affected by pH. Conditional binding constants for C

Contribution of soil properties of shooting fields to lead biovailability and toxicity to Enchytraeus crypticus

Variation in soil properties may cause substantial differences in metal bioavailability and toxicity to soil organisms. In this study, lead bioavailability and toxicity to Enchytraeus crypticus was assessed after 21 days exposure to soils from different landscapes of a shooting range containing 47-2398mgPb/kgdry weight (dw). Soils had different p

Toxicity of Pb contaminated soils to the oribatid mite Platynothrus peltifer

To understand the toxicity of Pb-polluted shooting fields, oribatid mites Platynothrus peltifer were exposed to shooting field soils containing 47–2398 mg Pb/kg dry weight (DW) and having $${\text{pH}}_{{{\text{CaCl}}_{ 2} }}$$pHCaCl2 3.2–6.8 and 3.8–13 % organic matter (OM). Exposures also included artificial soils with different pH and OM contents as well as two natural soils used as controls. Exposures lasted for 2 (acute) and 12 weeks (chronic). Survival, reproduction and uptake of Pb in the mites were related to total, water-extractable and 0.01 M CaCl2-extractable and porewater Pb concentrations as well as soil characteristics. After both the acute and chronic exposures, adult survival was not significantly affected, while upon chronic exposure reproduction was remarkably reduced in the acidic forest soils with Pb concentrations ≥2153 mg/kg DW and $${\text{pH}}_{{{\text{CaCl}}_{ 2} }}$$pHCaCl2 ≤ 3.5. P. peltifer juvenile numbers were significantly negatively and internal Pb concentrations in the mites were significantly positively related with total, extractable and porewater Pb concentrations. This study shows that P. peltifer is not very sensitive to Pb and therefore may not be a suitable indicator of Pb-polluted soils

Associations between trace metals in sediment, water, and guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Peters), from urban streams of Semarang, Indonesia.

The present study aims to answer the question whether the amount of metal in aquatic biota reflects the concentrations in the sediment and water, and whether the physico-chemical properties of the water and sediment have any influence on the suspected relationship. A study was made of 101 small streams in the city of Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Data on fish occurrence in 63 streams of the greater Semarang indicated that the guppies did not avoid the highly polluted sites. No significant difference in body weight between sites was found. Significant differences were found in metal body concentrations (Pb and Zn) between fish collected from sites with different degrees of pollution. A significant declining trend of Pb concentrations with increasing organism size was observed, whereas for two other metals, Zn and Cu, the concentrations did not depend on the body weight. Apparently, body concentrations of these two metals are regulated and maintained at a certain concentration. For the relationships between metal concentrations in water, sediment and fish, water and sediment parameters, and fish dry weight, the presence of significant multiple correlations and bivariate correlation (in 17 of 91 pairs of variables) indicated that, in general, abiotic parameters and body size had no influence on the metal flux from sediment to water, and into fish. Results of partial correlation analyses further suggested that metal concentrations in the sediments were the most important factor governing the metal body concentrations of fish. The present study indicates that the guppy Poecilia reticulata from urban streams is a potential bioindicator for urban metal pollution, especially with respect to their (1) spatial distribution over sites of all pollution regimes and (2) variation in metal accumulation levels reflecting the degree of pollution. (C) 2000 Academic Press