Soil Manganese Enrichment from Industrial Inputs: A Gastropod Perspective

Abstract

Manganese is one of the most abundant metal in natural environments and serves as an essential microelement for all living systems. However, the enrichment of soil with manganese resulting from industrial inputs may threaten terrestrial ecosystems. Several studies have demonstrated harmful effects of manganese exposure by cutaneous contact and/or by soil ingestion to a wide range of soil invertebrates. The link between soil manganese and land snails has never been made although these invertebrates routinely come in contact with the upper soil horizons through cutaneous contact, egg-laying, and feeding activities in soil. Therefore, we have investigated the direct transfer of manganese from soils to snails and assessed its toxicity at background concentrations in the soil. Juvenile Cantareus aspersus snails were caged under semi-field conditions and exposed first, for a period of 30 days, to a series of soil manganese concentrations, and then, for a second period of 30 days, to soils with higher manganese concentrations. Manganese levels were measured in the snail hepatopancreas, foot, and shell. The snail survival and shell growth were used to assess the lethal and sublethal effects of manganese exposure. The transfer of manganese from soil to snails occurred independently of food ingestion, but had no consistent effect on either the snail survival or shell growth. The hepatopancreas was the best biomarker of manganese exposure, whereas the shell did not serve as a long-term sink for this metal. The kinetics of manganese retention in the hepatopancreas of snails previously exposed to manganese-spiked soils was significantly influenced by a new exposure event. The results of this study reveal the importance of land snails for manganese cycling in terrestrial biotopes and suggest that the direct transfer from soils to snails should be considered when precisely assessing the impact of anthropogenic Mn releases on soil ecosystems.

Impact of Soil Cadmium on Land Snails: A Two-Stage Exposure Approach under Semi-Field Conditions Using Bioaccumulative and Conchological End-Points of Exposure

“…This implies that a new exposure event is an important factor contributing to the modification of Cd retention kinetics in the hepatopancreas of sub-adult C. aspersus previously exposed to Cd-spiked soils. Recently, we came to a similar conclusion regarding the soil manganese [ 26 ]. These data attest to the hepatopancreas of sub-adult C. aspersus the potential to serve as a sensitive bioaccumulator not only for soil Cd and Mn, but also for other metals that accumulate in soils.…”

“…Each terrarium contained a 15 cm-deep layer of dark brown chernozem soil as a substrate (mean weight: 400 ± 14.32 g); the soil had a silty clay loam texture (clay: 27.5%, silt: 25.7%, sand: 46.8%), pH of 6.78, and 7.5% organic carbon content. The snails were fed ad libitum an uncontaminated fodder containing fodder chalk (15%), wheat meal (10%), corn meal (7%), soya grits (10%), corn germ grits (10%), sunflower grits (15%), monocalcic phosphate (3%), Inlavit (10%), wheat pollard (10%) and vitamin-mineral premix for piglets (10%) [ 26 ].…”

“…Therefore, land snails after being exposed to a low level of metals can be exposed to elevating high levels of metals in soil in a short lifetime although they have very limited movement [ 25 ]. The kinetics of soil manganese retention in the hepatopancreas of snails previously exposed to Mn-spiked soils is significantly influenced by a new exposure event [ 26 ], and thus, we have hypothesized that a similar effect may occur in response to soil Cd exposure.…”

Treated municipal wastewater as option to the use of fresh water for the cultivation of valuable pastoral species Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.)

“…Wastewaters (municipal and not) can be utilized for ameliorating physicochemical soil properties and the strong relationship that exists between wastewater and soil organic carbon can be useful to design and manage soil irrigation with wastewater. In TWW irrigated soils, Mn and Zn increased as already reported by Bahri & Houmane (1987), and their values were overtime within the natural background levels in soil (Bordean et al, 2014;Mendoza et al, 2021). Heavy metal concentration increased in TWW treated soils.…”

Differential effect of manganese on the germination of Triglochin striata (Juncaginaceae) and Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) in Laguna de Carrizal Bajo wetland, Atacama Region, Chile

“…This situation is a consequence of combined contribution of Mn from the natural erosion of the bedrock and from liquid industrial residues derived from the region's mining activity (DGA 2004). Because Mn can accumulate in coastal marshes and wetlands (Bordean et al 2014), it is particularly important to evaluate a possible effect on the plants. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze under laboratory conditions the germinative response of two macrophytes, Triglochin striata Ruiz & Pav., Juncaginaceae (Triglochin hereafter) and Cotula coronopifolia L., Asteraceae (Cotula hereafter), which grow in the Laguna de Carrizal Bajo wetland.…”