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Arsenic metabolism in a freshwater food chain: Blue–green alga ( Nostoc sp .)→ shrimp ( Neocaridina denticulata )→ carp ( Cyprinus carpio )
Author(s) -
Maeda Shigeru,
Mawatari Kayoko,
Ohki Akira,
Naka Kensuke
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.590070705
Subject(s) - bioaccumulation , arsenic , shrimp , chemistry , carp , arsenobetaine , nostoc , cyprinus , environmental chemistry , food chain , botany , arsenate , biology , cyanobacteria , ecology , fishery , bacteria , fish <actinopterygii> , genetics , organic chemistry
Bioaccumulation and biomethylation of inorganic arsenic were investigated in a three‐step fresh‐water food chain consisting of an autotroph (blue‐ green alga: Nostoc sp.), a herbivore (shrimp: Neocaridina denticulata ) and a carnivore (carp: Cyprinus carpio ). The autotroph, herbivore and carnivore survived in arsenic‐containing water below 1000, 2 and 60 mg As(V) dm −3 , respectively. Bioaccumulation of arsenate by Nostoc sp. was decreased with an increase in the nitrogen concentration of the medium. Arsenic(V) was accumulated from the water phase and part‐methylated by the carp, as well as by the algae and shrimp. Arsenic was mostly accumulated in the gut of the carp. The predominant arsenical in the guts was the monomethylarsenic species. Arsenic accumulation via food in the above three‐step food chain decreased by one order of magnitude and the relative concentration of methylated arsenic to the total arsenic accumulated increased successively with an elevation in the trophic level. When arsenicals were transferred via the food chain, no monomethylarsenic, or only a trace amount, was detected in the three organisms. Dimethylarsenic in the alga, both dimethyl‐ and trimethyl‐arsenic in shrimp, and trimethyl‐arsenic in carp, were the predominant methylated arsenic species, respectively.