Use of endoparasites, Ligula intestinalis plerercoid in Rastreneobola argentea to biomonitor increasing metal contamination in waters of Lake Victoria.
The ability of endoparasites to detect even lowest metal concentration due to their enormous accumulation capacity has made them suitable water pollution biomonitors than their fish hosts. This study evaluated the metal accumulation ability of Ligula intestinalis in its intermediate cyprinid host silver sardine (Rastreneobola argentea) from Lake Victoria in the natural environment and in laboratory condition as a possible sentinel tool to biomonitor five metals. Metal concentration in fish and parasites exhibited site-specific variations relative to the anthropogenic activities along the coastal zone of Lake Victoria. The fish bioaccumulated lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and copper (Cu) by factor 5.2, 4.2, 6.4 and 3.5 respectively than its host under normal environmental conditions of the lake. When the metal content in water within the experimental units containing fish and parasites were increased ten-fold than metal concentration of the lake water in the laboratory, all heavy metal concentrations in L. intestinalis increased between 10 to 35 time higher than the concentration in tissues of its host. This study supports a recommendation of incorporating the cestode endoparasite (L. intestinalis) in a cyprinid host (R. argentea) as suitable early warning bio-indicator of heavy metal pollution and should thus be useful to track increasing localized heavy metal pollution.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Other biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Moi University
2009
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| Subjects: | Heavy metals, Endoparasites, Pollution effects, Anthropogenic factors, Bioaccumulation, Pollution, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/7085 |
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| Summary: | The ability of endoparasites to detect even lowest metal concentration due to their enormous accumulation capacity has made them suitable water pollution biomonitors than their fish hosts. This study evaluated the metal accumulation ability of Ligula intestinalis in its intermediate cyprinid host silver sardine (Rastreneobola argentea) from Lake Victoria in the natural environment and in laboratory condition as a possible sentinel tool to biomonitor five metals. Metal concentration in fish and parasites exhibited site-specific variations relative to the anthropogenic activities along the coastal zone of Lake Victoria. The fish bioaccumulated lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and copper (Cu) by factor 5.2, 4.2, 6.4 and 3.5 respectively than its host under normal environmental conditions of the lake. When the metal content in water within the experimental units containing fish and parasites were increased ten-fold than metal concentration of the lake water in the laboratory, all heavy metal concentrations in L. intestinalis increased between 10 to 35 time higher than the concentration in tissues of its host. This study supports a recommendation of incorporating the cestode endoparasite (L. intestinalis) in a cyprinid host (R. argentea) as suitable early warning bio-indicator of heavy metal pollution and should thus be useful to track increasing localized heavy metal pollution. |
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