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The contents and distributions of cadmium, mercury, and lead in Usnea antarctica lichens from Solorina Valley, James Ross Island (Antarctica)

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Abstract

Lichens are efficient and cost-effective biomonitors of the environment. Their geographic distribution together with their slow growth rate enable investigation of the deposition patterns of various elements and substances. In this research, levels of cadmium, lead, and mercury in Usnea antarctica lichens in the area of James Ross Island, Antarctica, were investigated. The lichens were microwave-digested, and the metals were determined by means of atomic absorption spectrometry with graphite furnace and a direct mercury analyzer. Median total contents of Cd, Hg, and Pb were 0.04, 0.47, and 1.6 mg/kg in whole lichens, respectively. The bottom-up distributions of these metals in the fruticose lichen thalli were investigated, and it was revealed that the accumulation patterns for mercury and lead were opposite to that for cadmium. The probable reason for this phenomenon may lie in the inner structure of thalli. The total contents of metals were comparable with those published for other unpolluted areas of maritime Antarctica. However, this finding was not expected for mercury, since the sampling locality was close to an area with some of the highest mercury contents published for Antarctic lichens. In short, lichens proved their usability as biological monitors, even in harsh conditions. However, the findings emphasize the need to take into account the distributions of elements both in the environment and in the lichen itself.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the CzechPolar-2 project for the possibility to use the facilities of the J. G. Mendel Station. We also thank all the personnel of the station and Diana Sychová for their assistance and support. The involvement of Pavel Coufalík was supported by the Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS under the Institutional Research Plan RVO: 68081715. Miloš Barták was supported by Ecopolaris project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_013/0001708.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Zvěřina

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137, Brno, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Zvěřina, Pavel Coufalík & Josef Komárek

  3. Institute of Analytical Chemistry, The Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Pavel Coufalík

  4. Department of Plant Physiology and Anatomy, Institute of Experimental Biology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Miloš Barták

  5. TESCAN Brno, s.r.o, Libušina třída 1, 623 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Petrov

  6. Institute of Physical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Petrov

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  1. Ondřej Zvěřina
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Correspondence to Ondřej Zvěřina.

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Zvěřina, O., Coufalík, P., Barták, M. et al. The contents and distributions of cadmium, mercury, and lead in Usnea antarctica lichens from Solorina Valley, James Ross Island (Antarctica). Environ Monit Assess 190, 13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6397-1

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