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Monitoring of heavy metal contamination in soils and terrestrial isopods sampled from the industrialized areas of Sfax (southeastern Tunisia)

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Abstract

To evaluate the influence of soil contamination on the distribution of terrestrial isopods, species richness, relative abundance, and diversity, various indices were studied in 20 sampling sites from five industrial areas located in Sfax (SE Tunisia). The following hypotheses were tested: (1) is isopod diversity affected by soil properties? (2) What are the environmental factors that influence the isopod distribution? A total of 445 individuals were sampled and eight species of terrestrial isopods were identified. Porcellionides pruinosus was the most abundant species (38%); however, the highest specific richness per area was equal to four species. To evaluate the impact of metal contamination on isopod distribution, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) concentrations were measured in soils and terrestrial isopods. Moreover, multivariate analyses revealed a negative correlation between heavy metal concentrations and ecological parameters suggesting an impact of the contamination degree on biodiversity. In addition, to characterize the heavy metal accumulation in isopods, the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was determined and revealed that Cu and Zn were the most accumulated elements. Results showed that for all species, the order of the BAF values is as follows: Cu ≫ Zn ≫ Cd > Pb > Fe. On the contrary, all species seemed to be deconcentrators of Fe and Cd, with some exceptions.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Research Laboratory of Biodiversity, Management and Conservation of Biological systems, University of Tunis El Manar, Faculty of Science of Tunis. We gratefully acknowledge the support of all members of the LGCgE (Yncréa Lille) regarding their considerable assistance in chemical analyses. The authors are grateful to Mrs. Abdelkefi Najoua (Translator/Interpreter) for proofreading the English of the manuscript and Mrs. Chebaane Sahar (Ph.D.) for designing the map.

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  1. Faculty of Science of Tunis, Research Laboratory of Biodiversity, Management and Conservation of Biological Systems, University of Tunis El Manar, El Manar II, 2092, Tunis, Tunisia

    Ahmed Ouni, Chedliya Ghemari, Amina Ben Said & Karima Nasri-Ammar

  2. Yncréa Hauts-de-France, Institut Supérieur d’Agriculture (ISA), Laboratoire Génie Civil et géo-Environnement (LGCgE), 48 Boulevard Vauban, Lille Cedex, 59046, France

    Christelle Pruvot & Francis Douay

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Ouni, A., Ghemari, C., Ben Said, A. et al. Monitoring of heavy metal contamination in soils and terrestrial isopods sampled from the industrialized areas of Sfax (southeastern Tunisia). Environ Earth Sci 78, 440 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8432-8

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