In situ compartmentation and biomagnification of chromium and manganese in industrially polluted Husainsagar Lake, Hyderabad, India

Abstract

The concentrations of Cr and Mn in water, sediment, nanoplankton, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish were determined during 1983–1984, to investigate biomagnification of these metals in Husainsagar Lake, India. The concentration of Cr in the water phase was above the permissible limits and Mn exhibited complex distribution pattern. The high concentrations of Cr and Mn in the surficial sediment was related to an increase in the intensity of in situ processes, mainly the enrichments of these metals in the organisms. The concentration of Cr was least in nanoplankton and remained the lowest in samples of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish. The concentration of Mn decreased from nanoplankton to fish, except in phytoplankton which showed the highest concentration. This trend did not illustrate the expected pattern of food chain enrichment in the classic sense of the term as noted for Hg and DDT. Furthermore, the Mn, but not the Cr, concentrations decreased with the increase in body weight of the fish.