School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, People's Republic of China.
Environ Monit Assess. 2011 May;176(1-4):321-9. doi: 10.1007/s10661-010-1585-2. Epub 2010 Jul 14.
Toxic metal pollution in bodies of water is a source of danger to the health of people living in developing countries. The untreated mine wastes located near some Chinese ore mines may cause water pollution, which ultimately results in various diseases. The aim of the present study is to assess the response of testate amoebae communities to pollution by toxic metals in groundwater, stream water, and aquatic bryophytes in Lanmuchang stream located in the Hg-Tl mineralized area in southwestern Guizhou Province, China. Measurements were made of the levels of Hg, As, Cd, Tl, Cu, Zn, and Pb in three mosses: Hyophila propagulifera, Rhynchostegium riparioides, and Hygroamblystegium tenax. Mean moss concentrations of Hg, As, Cu, Pb, and Zn were significantly higher than stream water values and testate amoebae species richness and abundance were significantly lower in the 'polluted' group. We then studied the correlation between toxic metals and testate amoebae. The total species abundance is correlated negatively to Hg and Cu concentrations. Our results indicated that testate amoebae are sensitive to toxic metal pollution and aquatic bryophytes are bioaccumulators of trace metals, and results also showed potential microecosystem health risks.
水体中的有毒金属污染是发展中国家居民健康的危险来源。中国一些矿石矿区附近未经处理的矿山废料可能导致水污染，最终导致各种疾病。本研究旨在评估在中国贵州省西南部汞-铊矿化区滥木厂溪中，地下水、溪流水中有毒金属对浮游有壳变形虫群落的影响，以及水生苔藓对有毒金属的响应。对三种苔藓（叶附水藓、溪生金发藓和湿生扭口藓）中的 Hg、As、Cd、Tl、Cu、Zn 和 Pb 进行了测量。Hg、As、Cu、Pb 和 Zn 的苔藓平均浓度明显高于溪流水中的值，而“污染”组的浮游有壳变形虫的物种丰富度和丰度明显较低。然后，我们研究了有毒金属和浮游有壳变形虫之间的相关性。总物种丰度与 Hg 和 Cu 浓度呈负相关。我们的结果表明，浮游有壳变形虫对有毒金属污染敏感，水生苔藓是痕量金属的生物蓄积器，结果还显示出潜在的微生态系统健康风险。
