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Toxicity and accumulation of lead and cadmium in the land snail, Archachatina papyracea, in a tropical Alfisol from Southwestern Nigeria

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Abstract

Snails are an important link in the transfer of contaminants, especially metals in the food chain. Yet, few studies have examined the toxicity and accumulation of metals in snails in the tropics. This study assessed the toxicity and accumulation of two non-essential metals (cadmium and lead) to the tropical snail Archachatina papyracea. Specimens of the snail A. papyracea were exposed in a loamy soil collected from Ile-Ife, Nigeria and spiked with varying concentrations of Cd and Pb over 28 days. Survival and weight change of snails were monitored weekly, while tissue accumulation was assessed at the end of the 28-day period. Survival was a more sensitive endpoint than the weight change of snails. The Cd median lethal concentration (LC50) value was 93 ± 4.4 mg/kg, while the median effect concentration (EC50) for snail weight change was 131 ± 41 mg/kg. For Pb, LC50 value was 1121 ± 457 mg/kg, while the EC50 value for weight change was higher at 4541 ± 1180 mg/kg. Therefore, Cd was a factor of about 10 to 30 × more toxic than Pb, consistent with findings on the relative toxicity of Cd and Pb to other soil organisms, including earthworms, springtails, and mites. Although not included initially as an endpoint, egg production in the snails decreased with increasing Cd and Pb concentrations in the substrate. Metal analysis of the foot and visceral mass of surviving snails showed progressive accumulation of Cd and Pb as concentration increased, showing the tendency to use body residue of A. papyracea as an indicator of metal pollution. It further suggests the role of this snail species in above-ground metal transfer in the food chain and highlights the potential danger for human consumption.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge that the abstract and data for this study were first presented as a poster at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) 6th World Congress, Berlin, Germany in 2012, and we are grateful for various feedbacks during the presentation. This research was supported by Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation, Bonn, Germany Research Grant (GA-Nr 19048) that was awarded to O.J.O.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

    Olugbenga John Owojori, Michael Awodiran & Oluwadunsin Esther Ayanda

  2. Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands

    Olukayode Oluwole Jegede

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  1. Olugbenga John Owojori
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  2. Michael Awodiran
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  3. Oluwadunsin Esther Ayanda
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  4. Olukayode Oluwole Jegede
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OJO Project administration, method, validation, formal analysis, and investigation, visualization, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing.

MA Analytical method validation, investigation, writing—review and editing.

OA Analytical method validation, investigation, visualization, writing—original draft.

OOJ Analytical method validation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing and visualization.

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Correspondence to Olugbenga John Owojori.

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Owojori, O.J., Awodiran, M., Ayanda, O.E. et al. Toxicity and accumulation of lead and cadmium in the land snail, Archachatina papyracea, in a tropical Alfisol from Southwestern Nigeria. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 44917–44927 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18947-z

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