Accumulation of metals and metalloids in
larvae of insects and frog living in wet
sedimentation ponds receiving runoff
from a four lane motorway
Sondre Meland1,2
Mari B. Damsgård2
Lindis Skipperud2
Lene S. Heier2
1
2
Norwegian Public Road Administration
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
11th Urban Environment Symposium
16 – 19 Sept. 2012 Karlsruhe, Germany
Road runoff is considered
as significant source of
diffuse pollution
Wet sedimentation ponds
are established to
mitigate peak runoffs and
pollutant loadings
Important habitat for many
aquatic organisms, e.g.
insects and amphibians
They are likely to be
episodically exposed to high
levels of contaminants
during their lifespan
What are the consequences
for the organisms?
Objective 1:
To document the baseline levels of
traffic related metals (=metals +
metalloids) in aquatic organisms living
in wet sedimentation ponds
• Metals were quantified in water, sediment and
organisms in 5 sedimentation ponds and 2 control
ponds
Objective 2:
To document the temporal
accumulation of traffic related metals
and metalloids in egg and tadpoles of
common frog (Rana temporaria) living
in a wet sedimentation ponds
• Metals were quantified in eggs and tadpoles in
samples obtained during a period of 48 days
AREA OF INTEREST
5 sedimentation ponds:
– 4 ponds receiving road runoff
– 1 pond receiving tunnel wash
water
– 2 control ponds
Pond size: 194m2 – 1475 m2
Annual average daily traffic:
26 – 53 000
Sampling campaign spring
2010:
– Sediment, water and biota
METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN
Metal concentrations
comparable with other
studies
WATER:
Redundancy analysis (RDA)
The ponds explained 87%
(p=0.002) of the variation
1.0
ContrF
As
0.8
Ranking along the metal
gradient (1st axis):
0.6
– CtrC < Tar N < Tar < CtrF <
Tar S < Skull < Vassum
0.4
Fe
0.2
Vassum
Al
Ni
Co
ContrC
Tar
0.0
Pb
Tar N
Tar S
-0.2
Cr
Skull
-0.4
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Metal gradient
WATER
0.8
Cd
Sb
Cu
Zn
1.0
Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb were the
metals of most concern
– Vassum highly polluted (IV-V)
according to the Norwegian
EQS
– Cu  max. 20±4 µg/L
– Zn  max. 154±53 µg/L
– Ni  max. 5.1±0.1 µg/L
– Pb  max. 2.6±1.1 µg/L
METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN SEDIMENT:
Redundancy analysis (RDA)
The ponds explained 83%
(p=0.002) of the variation
1.0
ContrF
ContrC
0.8
Ranking along the metal
gradient (1st axis):
As
0.6
0.4
– Tar N < Tar S < Tar < Skull
< CtrC < CtrF < Vassum
Pb
Cr
0.2
Ni
0.0
Cu and Zn were the
metals of most concern
Co
Tar N
Skull
Cd
Tar S
Tar
-0.2
Zn
Cu
-0.4
Sb
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Metal
gradient
Vassum
0.8
1.0
– Vassum highly polluted (IV)
according to the Norwegian
EQS
– Cu  max. 157±19 µg/g
– Zn  max. 969±132 µg/g
METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN BIOTA
1.0
The ponds and organisms
explained 77% (p=0.002)
of the variation
Tar
0.8
Cd
– “Pond factor” 21%
– “Species factor” 9%
– Chaired explainability
0.6
0.4
As
Ni
0.2
0.0
-0.2
Tar N
Co
Fe
Al
Ephemer
Ranking along the metal
gradient (1st axis):
ContrF
Zygop
ContrC
– CtrC < Tar S < CtrF < Skull
< Vassum < Tar N
– Damselflies < mayflies <
dragonflies
Anisop
Skull
Pb
Cu
Tar S
Zn
Cr
Vassum
-0.4
Sb
-0.6
-1.0
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
Metal gradient
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
METAL CONCENTRATIONS
ODONATA
(VASSUM)
Metal and metalloids inIN
odonata
(Vassum)
Zn
Cr
1.0
Co
0.2
40
0.5
0.1
µg/g wet weight
20
0
0.0
0.0
Ni
Cu
As
10
0.4
0.04
5
0.2
0.0
0.02
0
0.00
Cd
Sb
0.04
0.02
0.00
Pb
0.30
0.4
0.15
0.2
0.00
A nisoptera
Zy goptera
0.0
A nisoptera
Zy goptera
A nisoptera
Zy goptera
Dragonfly
(anisoptera)
Damselfly
(zygoptera)
http://www.cfwep.org/edu
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RELATIONCHIP BETWEEN THE METALS IN
SEDIMENT, WATER AND BIOTA
Person correlation coefficients between sample
scores from the RDA axis 1 obtained from sediment,
water and biota analyses
1.0
ContrF
As
0.8
0.6
0.4
Fe
0.2
Al
Ni
Vassum
Co
– “sediment vs. water”  r = 0.7 (p<0.05)
– “sediment vs. biota”  r = -0.3 (p>0.05)
– “water vs. biota”  r = -0.4 (p>0.05)
ContrC
Tar
0.0
Pb
Tar N
Cd
Sb
Cu
Zn
Tar S
-0.2
Cr
Skull
-0.4
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.0
WATER
ContrF
ContrC
0.8
As
0.6
0.4
– Water: Ni (r=-0.7), Cd (r=-0.6), Sb (r=-0.6), Co (r=-0.5)
– Sediment: Zn (r=-0.6)
Pb
Cr
0.2
Ni
Co
Tar N
0.0
Skull
Cd
Tar S
Tar
-0.2
Zn
Cu
-0.4
Sb
Vassum
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
sediment
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.0
Tar
0.8
Cd
0.6
0.4
As
Ni
0.2
0.0
-0.2
Tar N
Co
Fe
Al
Ephemer
ContrF
Zygop
ContrC
Anisop
Skull
Pb
Cu
Tar S
Zn
Cr
Vassum
-0.4
Sb
-0.6
-1.0
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
Weak correlations may be due to:
1. Different accumulation between different organisms
2. Food ingestion, which may be significant route of metal
uptake was not evaluated
3. Nymphal molting will have an impact as many metals
accumulates in the exosceleton
4. Bioavailable fractions in water and sediment were not
determined
TIME-DEPENDENT ACCUMULATION OF METALS IN
EGGS AND TADPOLES
0.5
Cd
As
Ni Cu
Co
Pb
Cr
Sb
0.0
-0.5
Zn
SAMPLES
-1.0
-0.6
Day 1
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
Day 6
0.4
Day 27
0.6
0.8
Day 48
1.0
1.2
PCA axis 1 sample scores
1.0
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0
Metal gradient
20
40
60
No. of days
The PCA axis accounted for 91% of the total variation, indicating a
strong linear trend.
The time dependent accumulation was confirmed by one-way ANOVA
(r=0.8, p=0.0001)
Steepest increase between the developmental stages egg and tadpole
– Physiological differences  “passive” to “active”
A threshold level seemed to be reached after 48 days
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Vassum pond, receiving tunnel wash water, was
contaminated with high levels of Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb in water and
Cu and Zn in sediment
The metal concentrations in biota were generally higher in
sedimentation ponds than in the control ponds
– The observed variation in the data could be explained by a “pond
factor” and a “species factor” (dragonflies > mayflies > damselflies)
The metal concentrations in sediment and water were only
marginally correlated with the metal body burdens of the
sampled organisms
A time-dependent accumulation of metals in eggs and tadpoles
was observed over a period of 48 days
The present results may be considered as a baseline, being
significant for future ecotoxicological studies
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
[email protected]