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Biomonitoring and Evaluation of Metal Concentrations in Sediment and Crab Samples from the North-West Province of South Africa

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Abstract

In this study, various metal concentrations were determined in environmental samples from rivers in the vicinity of mining areas of the Northwest Province, South Africa. These metal concentrations were also determined in various crustacean organs viz., hepatopancreas, flesh and muscle of the freshwater crab, Potamonautes warreni. The highest metal concentrations obtained in the freshwater samples were Ni (0.022 mg/l), Pb (0.02 mg/l), Cu (0.011 mg/l), Cd (0.009 mg/l), Pt (0.017 μg/l), Pd (0.011 μg/l) and Rh (0.008 μg/l). The highest metal concentrations obtained in the sediment samples were Ni (85.1 mg/kg dry weight (d.wt)), Pb (25.4 mg/kg d.wt), Cu (75.5 mg/kg d.wt), Cd (64.9 mg/kg d.wt), Pt (0.38 ng/g d.wt), Pd (0.74 ng/g d.wt) and Rh (0.23 ng/g d.wt). The results obtained for the bioavailability studies of all the metals investigated in the sediment have revealed no definite patterns for the fractionation results of the metal concentrations. In the case of the crab samples collected in the Elands River, the Pb, Cd, Pt, Pd and Rh concentrations indicate that the mining activities may have had an influence in the uptake of these metals in the crab samples analysed. In the case of the Hex River, the Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd, Pd and Rh concentrations in the crab samples may be attributed to mining activities. The bioaccumulation results indicated that the Ni and Cu concentrations show partly bioaccumulation in the tissues of the crab samples evaluated. For the Pd, Cd, Pt, Pd and Rh concentrations evaluated, definite signs of bioaccumulation were found.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Water Research Commission (WRC), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The assistance from researchers at the SensorLab, Chemistry Department, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, is also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa

    V. Somerset, C. Van der Horst, B. Silwana & C. Walters

  2. SensorLab, Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

    C. Van der Horst, B. Silwana & E. Iwuoha

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  1. V. Somerset
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  2. C. Van der Horst
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  3. B. Silwana
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  5. E. Iwuoha
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Correspondence to V. Somerset.

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Highlights

• Study presents a novel investigation into the uptake of platinum group metals by the freshwater crab, Potamonautes warreni.

• The analytical results demonstrate that the metal concentrations vary significantly during the wet and dry seasons of the rivers evaluated.

• The analytical results demonstrate further that the metal concentrations vary significantly with the type of crab tissue.

• The metals evaluated showed different patterns of uptake in the muscle, hepatopancreas and body flesh tissues of the freshwater crab.

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Somerset, V., Van der Horst, C., Silwana, B. et al. Biomonitoring and Evaluation of Metal Concentrations in Sediment and Crab Samples from the North-West Province of South Africa. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 43 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2329-2

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