Seasonal variations in metal content of two Unio pictorum mancus (Mollusca, Unionidae) populations from two lakes of different trophic state (original) (raw)

from of 12 Northern Italian lakes in relation to their trophic level

2016

This research aims to test the reliability of environmental monitoring by bioaccumulators of pollutants; that is to establish a positive relationship between the pollutant concentrations in the bioaccumulator and those in the water in which it lives. To this end we analysed the contents of Al, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Ca in the soft tissues and shell of Unio pictorum mancus. The filtered water sam-ples from the mussel habitat were analysed for the same metals. The mussels were collected from 15 stations settled in 12 Northern Italian lakes during the first two weeks of July 2001. These results were obtained: a) metal concentrations varied widely with mussel size and among stations; b) a significant positive correlation between the concentration of calcium in the water and in the mussel tis-sues, but no relationship emerged for the other metals; c) no relationship between the metal concentrations in the tissues and those in the shell was found; d) there was a certain tendency for Mn, Fe an...