Determining the trophic transfer of metal(loid)s and arsenic speciation in freshwater aquatic organisms by quantifying diet compositions

Abstract

Bioaccumulation through diet is the predominant source of metal(loid)s in fishes; however, the trophic transfer of metal(loid)s from the diet to aquatic organisms remains largely unclear. In this study, aquatic organisms and five potential food sources (leaf litter, coarse and fine particulate organic matter (CPOM and FPOM, respectively), epilithon and fish) were collected around the Shimen Realgar Mine of China. Stomach content analysis and stable nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis, combined with a new Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR), were used to quantify diet compositions of aquatic organisms. The δ13C and δ15N values varied among fish sizes and sampling sites and were probably related to the diet shift of aquatic organisms. The MixSIAR modelling results showed that the aquatic organisms’ food sources were mainly composed of FPOM (9%–68%) and epilithon (15%–65%), with leaf litter, CPOM and fish accounting for smaller proportions (2%–30%). Concentrations ranged from 0.91 to 1298 mg/kg for As, 0.01–1.30 mg/kg for Cd, 0.12–37.79 mg/kg for Pb, 0.63–1158 mg/kg for Cr, 1.22–411 mg/kg for Cu, 0.82–1772 mg/kg for Mn, 0.31–542 mg/kg for Ni and 21.84–1414 mg/kg for Zn in all the collected samples, including the aquatic organisms and the relevant food sources. The metal(loid) concentrations in the CPOM, FPOM and epilithon were significantly higher than those in aquatic organisms and leaf litter. In addition, the biomagnification factors were all less than 1, indicating a biodilution from diet to freshwater organisms. The predominant As species were organic As in aquatic organisms, while inorganic As was common in their food sources, indicating that As biotransformation occurred within the freshwater food chain.