title: Heavy metals in sediments and soft tissues of the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica: more evidence as a possible biomonitor of coastal marine pollution at high latitudes?
abstract: Studies on metal contamination in 25 de Mayo Island, Antarctica, yielded controversial results. In this work, we analyzed Antarctic marine sediments and Antarctic clam (Laternula elliptica) tissues to investigate the possible use of this mollusk as a biomonitor of metals and to identify the sources of metal pollution. Different types of paint from several buildings from Carlini Station were examined to assess their contribution to the local and random metal pollution. Five sediment samples, 105 L. elliptica specimens (40.2-78.0mm length) and four types of paint were analyzed to quantify Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Metal concentrations in sediments were lower than the global averages of the earth's crust, with the exception of Cd and Cu. These results were related to the contribution of the local fresh-water runoff. The different varieties of paint showed low levels of Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn, whereas a broad range of values were found in the case of Cr and Pb (20-15,100 μg·g(-1) and 153-115,500 μg·g(-1) respectively). The remains of the paint would be responsible for the significant increases in Cr and Pb which are randomly detected by us and by other authors. High levels of Fe and Cd, in comparison to other Antarctic areas, appear to be related to the terrigenous materials transported by the local streams. Accumulation indexes suggested that kidney tissue from L. elliptica could be an adequate material for biomonitoring pollution with Cd, Zn and probably also Pb. In general, relationships between size and metal contents reported by other authors were not verified, suggesting that this issue should be revised.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Antártico Argentino, Balcarce 290, C1091AAF Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vodopivez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Antártico Argentino, Balcarce 290, C1091AAF Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Curtosi
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Toxicología, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, C1113AAD Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Edda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Villaamil
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Actividad Química, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Gral Paz 1499, 1650 San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Smichowski
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (ISMER), Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski G5L 3A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Emilien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pelletier
authors.affiliation: Instituto Antártico Argentino, Balcarce 290, C1091AAF Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Nanobiotecnología NANOBIOTEC (UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Junín 956, C1113AAD Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: wmac@ffyb.uba.ar.
authors.forename: Walter P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Mac Cormack
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Antarctic clam; Biomonitoring; Marine sediments; Metal pollution; Potter Cove