Bioaccumulation of cadmium, lead, and zinc in agriculture-based insect food chains

Abstract

Globally, the metals concentration in soil is increasing due to different anthropogenic and geogenic factors.These metals are taken up by plants and further transferred in the food chain through different routes. The present study was designed to assess the transfer and bioaccumulation of the heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn), in food chains from soil to berseem plants (Triofolium alexandrinum), to insect herbivores (the grasshopper Ailopus thalassinus and the aphid Sitobion avenae) and to an insect carnivore (the ladybird beetle Coccinella septempunctata). The soil of studied berseem fields were slightly alkaline, silty loam in texture and moderate in organic matter. In soil, the concentration of Zn and Pb were under permissible level while Cd was above the permissible level. The accumulation of metals in T. alexandrinum were found in the order Zn>Cd>Pb. Grasshoppers showed higher accumulation of Pb than of Cd and Zn. In the soil-berseem-aphid-beetle food chain,metals enrichment was recorded. However, aphids did not show bioaccumulation for Cd. Metals accumulation in beetles showed that translocation of Zn, Cd and Pb was taking place in the third trophic level. Our study highlights the mobility of metals in insect food chains and showed that insect feeding style greatly influenced the bioaccumulation. However, different metals showed variable bioaccumulation rates depending on their toxicity and retention.

Elucidating the effect and mechanism of the brown coal-based amendment on plant availability of zinc, lead and cadmium in a Haplic Luvisols

“…The BI values differed significantly for metals. Butt et al (2018) reported that they recorded the highest average bio-accumulation factor (BAF) for Zn (3.35) and the least for Cd (1.22) with intermediate values for Pb (2.94). The higher values are adopted by BI, the higher concentration of the element is determined in the plant biomass in reference to the initial values in soil.…”

Revisiting the concept of entomotoxicology

“…Some studies traditionally focus on the evaluation of the accumulation in insects [ 43 ], while other works emphasize insects as bioindicators of environmental pollution [ 1 ]. Recently, there is an increased effort in research focused on the transfer of different heavy metals via the whole terrestrial [ 44 , 45 ] and aquatic [ 46 , 47 ] food chains (including insects). The effects of certain heavy metal on fitness traits of insect species have been studied sporadically [ 48 ].…”

Comparison of Cadmium Cd2+ and Lead Pb2+ Binding by Fe2O3@SiO2‐EDTA Nanoparticles – Binding Stability and Kinetic Studies

“…Heavy metals are known as naturally occurring compounds, but the anthropogenic activities enhance their distribution in the environment. Undesirable human activity leads to their bioaccumulation in the food chains .…”