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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

o aquatic insects disperse metals from contaminated streams to land

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Author(s):
Augusto, Fernanda G. [1] ; Graca, Manuel A. S. [2] ; Martinelli, Luiz A. [1] ; Cacador, Isabel [3] ; Arce-Funck, Julio [2]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Lab Isotope Ecol, Av Padua Dias 330, BR-13416000 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Coimbra, MARE Marine & Environm Res Ctr, Dept Life Sci, Coimbra - Portugal
[3] Univ Lisbon, MARE Marine & Environm Res Ctr, Dept Plant Biol, Lisbon - Portugal
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: Hydrobiologia; v. 849, n. 6, SI, p. 1437-1451, MAR 2022.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

Mining activities often produce large amounts of pollutants that lead to streams affecting aquatic biota. Aquatic insects have a key role in energy transference from streams to terrestrial systems since emergent insects contribute to the diet of riparian predators. If streams are polluted, emergent insects may act as pollutant conveyors from water to land. Our objective was to investigate if insects inhabiting streams contaminated by heavy metals accumulate, biomagnify, and transfer metals to land. We selected eight streams with different levels of pollution and three metallic pollutants: copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). We sampled (i) water and sediments, (ii) organic matter, macrophytes, and biofilm, (iii) aquatic insects, and (iv) riparian spiders (land predators). We classified the organisms in functional feeding groups (FFG) and used the nitrogen stable isotope (delta N-15) to determine the position of organisms in the food web. We found that contaminants in the sediments, but not in the water, were related to contaminant concentrations in biological samples. Biomagnification processes were metal dependent: Cu was biomagnified, Mn underwent biodilution, and no tendency was observed for Zn. The emergence of aquatic insects from metal-polluted rivers is a potential way of Cu, not Mn or Zn, flux to land. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 18/07806-4 - Land-use effects on stream ecosystems: do metals from mining run-off return to land by emergence and dispersion of aquatic insects? A stable isotopes approach
Grantee:Fernanda Gaudio Augusto
Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate