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Assessment of metal contamination in the Hun River, China, and evaluation of the fish Zacco platypus and the snail Radix swinhoei as potential biomonitors

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Abstract

The Hun River is a major tributary of the Liao River in the northeast area of China and provides drinking water for 23 million local residents. This study was designed to assess the severity of metal contamination in the Hun River and the potential use of indigenous organisms (the fish Zacco platypus and the snail Radix swinhoei) as biomonitors of metal contamination. Water, sediment, and the native fish and snails were collected at four sampling sites that differed in their physicochemical characteristics and their contamination levels. The samples were analyzed for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn by ICP-MS. The results showed that although the overall potential ecological risks of the metals were low at our sampling sites, Cd posed a noteworthy ecological risk. Strong correlations were obtained between Cd concentrations in the organisms and in the environment. The results indicated that Z. platypus and R. swinhoei can be useful biomonitoring species for assessing Cd contamination. Biomonitoring with the snail may be most effective when focused on the gonad/digestive tissue (because of the high metal accumulation there), but further work is needed to confirm this.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 41303087; NSFC, 31270549) and the One-hundred Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y2SBR111SS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Xing Wu, Shaofeng Wang, Hongxing Chen, Mi Gao, Ran Bi & Lingtian Xie

  2. Institute of Environmental Protection, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 100049, China

    Xing Wu

  3. Key Laboratory of Mariculture and Stock Enhancement in North China’s Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China

    Zhiqiang Jiang

  4. Liaoning Key Laboratory of Urban Integrated Pest Management and Ecological Security, Shenyang University, Shenyang, 110044, China

    Hongwei Chen

  5. Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 42451, Lafayette, LA, 70504-2451, USA

    Paul L. Klerks

  6. Liaoning Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shenyang, 110161, China

    He Wang

  7. Guangxi Academy of Fishery Science, Guangxi, 530021, China

    Yongju Luo

Authors
  1. Xing Wu
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  2. Shaofeng Wang
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  9. He Wang
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  10. Yongju Luo
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Correspondence to Yongju Luo or Lingtian Xie.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Xing Wu and Shaofeng Wang contributed equally to this study and share first authorship.

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Wu, X., Wang, S., Chen, H. et al. Assessment of metal contamination in the Hun River, China, and evaluation of the fish Zacco platypus and the snail Radix swinhoei as potential biomonitors. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 6512–6522 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8348-8

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