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Assessment of heavy metal pollution in Córdoba (Spain) by biomonitoring foraging honeybee

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Abstract

Due to features that make them outstanding environmental bioindicator, colonies of Apis mellifera are being used to study environmental pollution. The primary objective of this research was to use honeybee colonies to identify heavy metals and determine their utility for environmental management. Five stations each with two A. mellifera hives were strategically located in urban, industrial, agricultural and forested areas within the municipality of Córdoba (Spain), and foraging bees were collected from April to December in 2007, 2009 and 2010 to analyse spatial and temporal variation in Pb, Cr, Ni and Cd pollution. Metal concentrations, in milligram per kilogram of honeybee, were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Significant differences in concentrations were found among the various locations and periods. The highest number of values exceeding the upper reference thresholds proposed for this study (Pb, 0.7 mg/kg; Cr, 0.12 mg/kg; Ni, 0.3 mg/kg; and Cd, 0.1 mg/kg) was observed for Pb and Cr (6.25 % respectively), station S4 (13.22 %), year 2007 (20.83 %) and in months of May and July (11.90 % each). Regarding the Cd, which was analysed only in 2010, the highest number of values exceeding the upper reference thresholds was 40 %. Biomonitoring with colonies of A. mellifera could contribute to improved surveillance and control systems for atmospheric pollution by integrating qualitative and quantitative assessments, thus facilitating prevention and readiness in the event of environmental crises.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by two funders: the Córdoba City Council through the “Evaluation of urban pollution in the municipality of Córdoba using colonies of Apis mellifera as environmental bioindicators” project (Ref: 2006/000228) and the Spanish Ministry of Environment through the “Network of biomonitoring stations using colonies of Apis mellifera for real time assessment of urban pollution in the city of Córdoba” project (PC 199-003, 2008–2011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Apoidea, Spin-off from University of Córdoba, Font del Riego 38, 14009, Córdoba, Spain

    Miriam Gutiérrez & José Antonio Ruiz

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Rafael Molero & Miquel Gaju

  3. Plant Research International, Wageningen Campus, Wageningen, Holland

    Josef van der Steen

  4. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Claudio Porrini

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  1. Miriam Gutiérrez
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  2. Rafael Molero
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  4. Josef van der Steen
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  5. Claudio Porrini
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  6. José Antonio Ruiz
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Correspondence to Miriam Gutiérrez.

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Gutiérrez, M., Molero, R., Gaju, M. et al. Assessment of heavy metal pollution in Córdoba (Spain) by biomonitoring foraging honeybee. Environ Monit Assess 187, 651 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4877-8

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