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Heavy metal distribution and bioaccumulation in Chihuahuan Desert Rough Harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) populations |
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| Authors: | I Del Toro K Floyd D Borrok |
| Institution: | a Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 611 N. Pleasant Street Amherst, MA 01003, USA b Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA c Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA d Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA |
| Abstract: | Heavy metal contamination can negatively impact arid ecosystems; however a thorough examination of bioaccumulation patterns has not been completed. We analyzed the distribution of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in soils, seeds and ant (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) populations of the Chihuahuan Desert near El Paso, TX, USA. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, and Pb in soils, seeds and ants declined as a function of distance from a now inactive Cu and Pb smelter and all five metals bioaccumulated in the granivorous ants. The average bioaccumulation factors for the metals from seeds to ants ranged from 1.04× (As) to 8.12× (Cd). The findings show bioaccumulation trends in linked trophic levels in an arid ecosystem and further investigation should focus on the impacts of heavy metal contamination at the community level. |
| Keywords: | Granivory Hymenoptera Formicidae Bioaccumulation Heavy metals |
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