Assessment of bioaccumulation of cu and Pb in experimentally exposed spiders, Lycosa terrestris and Pardosa birmanica, using different exposure routes

Abstract

There are major concerns regarding the environmental and human health risks caused by exposure to heavy metals. Spiders are often used as a model in ecotoxicological studies to assess soil pollution. In present study, we measured the bioaccumulation of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in spiders, Lycosa terrestris and Pardosa birmanica by ICP-MS. We determined whether Cu and Pb accumulation differed in (i) different spider species, (ii) single compared to combined exposure, and (iii) routes of exposure. Spiders were exposed to 10mM CuSO4 and 10mM PbCl2 solutions separately or combined (10mM+10mM) through different exposure routes i.e. spiked soil and food for 6 weeks. Effect of metals on survival and body mass of exposed and unexposed (control) spiders was determined. In both spider species, accumulation of metals increased with exposure time. In single metal exposure, Cu accumulation from food was higher than soil exposure in both spiders species, whereas the opposite was observed for Pb. In combined treatment, the uptake of both metals significantly decreased from similar accumulation routes. L. terrestris accumulated higher concentration of metals than P. birmanica during soil exposure. Metal exposure via contaminated food caused higher mortality compared to soil exposure. Body mass of both spider species was significantly decreased and negatively correlated with metal's concentration. These results suggest that bioaccumulation efficiency of Cu and Pb differs significantly in spiders exposed to metal's mixture compared to a single metal exposure, and is dependent on exposure route, type of metal and spider species.More understanding of the effect of exposure to metal mixture and exposure routes may help to improve risk assessment and ecological monitoring programs.

Chronic Engineered Nanoparticle Additions Alter Insect Emergence and Result in Metal Flux from Aquatic Ecosystems into Riparian Food Webs

“…Overall, spiders collected from CuNP mesocosms had higher tissue concentrations and contained more Cu than spiders collected from the Control mesocosms. At spider tissue concentrations found in this study, toxicity effects such as increased mortality and decreased body mass change have been reported after dietary Cu exposure. , …”

“…At spider tissue concentrations found in this study, toxicity effects such as increased mortality and decreased body mass change have been reported after dietary Cu exposure. 74,75 Both spider genera used in our study are relatively sedentary and frequently used as sentinels of chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems, but very little is known about their home ranges so it is possible that spiders could have moved between mesocosms during sampling. 37 However, we did not observe any evidence of movement, as Au was below the instrument detection limit for all Control and CuNP spiders.…”

Use of Riparian Spiders as Sentinels of Persistent and Bioavailable Chemical Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review

“…Studies of microcystin, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and some metals have also used stable isotopes and correlations of riparian spider–prey contaminant concentrations to confirm insect prey as the primary source of these contaminants (Kim & Kim, 2016; Koch et al, 2020; Moy et al, 2016; Richmond et al, 2018) but these toxins and contaminants have been less well studied. We note that a recent laboratory study (Aziz et al, 2020) suggests that soils can be an important source of contamination for some metals and this source should be explored for riparian spiders.…”