Assessment of contamination based on trace element concentrations in Gomphus flavipes (Odonata: Insect) larvae of the Upper Tisza Region

Simon, Edina and Kis, Olga and Jakab, Tibor and Kolozsvári, István and Málnás, Kristóf and Harangi, Sándor and Baranyai, Edina and Miskolczi, Margit and Tóthmérész, Béla and Dévai, György (2016) Assessment of contamination based on trace element concentrations in Gomphus flavipes (Odonata: Insect) larvae of the Upper Tisza Region. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, 136. pp. 55-61. ISSN 0147-6513

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Abstract

Odonata larvae are frequently used to assess the contamination of aquatic systems, because they tolerate a wide range of chemical and biological conditions in freshwater systems. In early 2000, the sediments of the Hungarian section of the River Tisza and the River Szamos were strongly enriched with heavy metals by an accidental mining spill. Earlier studies demonstrated higher contamination levels in the Szamos than in the Tisza, based on sediment analysis. The aim of our study was to assess the contamination in the Upper Tisza Region, along the upper reach of the Tisza, and the lower reach of the Szamos, based on the trace element concentrations of the Gomphus fl avipes larvae. We collected 269 dragon fl y specimens for the analyses. The Al, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sr and Zn element contents were analysed in the dragon fl y larvae by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MP-AES). Signi fi cantly higher Ba and Cu concentrations were found in the dragon fl y larvae of the Tisza than the Szamos. In spite of this, the Cr, Mn, Pb, Sr and Zn concentration was signi fi cantly lower in the dragon fl y larvae of the Tisza than the Szamos. For all trace elements signi fi cant di ff erences were found along the Tisza. Signi fi cant di ff erences were also found in all trace element concentrations of dragon fl y larvae among studied localities in the Szamos, except in the cases of Al and Ba. Our results demonstrated that the Szamos was more contaminated with Cr, Mn, Pb, Sr and Zn than the Tisza, but that the Tisza was more contaminated with Ba and Cu than the Szamos, based on the trace element concentrations in Gomphus fl avipes larvae, which was likely to have been caused by the tributaries of the Tisza. In summary, our results indicated a continuous pollution of the Tisza and the Szamos and their tributaries.

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