Arsenic concentrations and speciation in wild birds from an abandoned realgar mine in China. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Fen; Xie, Shaowen; Liu, Jinxin; Wei, Chaoyang; Zhang, Hongzhi; Chen, Tao; Zhang, Jing
• Is Part Of: Chemosphere. Volume 193(2018)
• Page Start: 777
• Page End: 784
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: Arsenic -- Muscles -- Feathers -- HPLC-ICP-MS -- XANES; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Physiological effect -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Atmospheric chemistry -- Periodicals; 551.511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.11.098
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0045-6535

Abstract

Abstract: Birds are at a higher level in the food chain; however, the potential bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic (As) in birds in As mines has rarely been studied. In this study, four passerine bird species (tree sparrow [ Passer montanus ], light-vented bulbul [ Pycnonotus sinensis ], Garrulax canorus [ Leucodioptron canorus ], and magpie [ Pica pica ]) were collected from an abandoned As mine in China. The highest recorded As concentrations were 4.95 mg/kg and 51.65 mg/kg in muscles and feathers, respectively. Detection using high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) revealed six As species, including arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), arsenobetaine (AsB) and arsenocholine (AsC), with the former three species as the dominant (>92%) and the latter three as the minor As species (<6.17%). Further analysis of the selected bird samples using the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) technique revealed the existence of As(III)-tris-glutathione (As(III)-GSH), which can be regarded as equivalent to the non-extractable and unidentified As form in the HPLC-ICP-MS data. Both methods revealed similar patterns of As species in the birds from the As mine, with muscles containing mainly inorganic As and DMA and feathers containing mainly inorganic As. The results of this study contribute to the knowledge regarding As accumulation and speciation in terrestrial organisms. Graphical abstract: Image Highlights: Four species of passerine birds with 6 individuals lived in a realgar mine were collected. The tissues/organs of bird samples were analysed for total concentrations and speciation of arsenic. Elevated arsenic concentrations in various tissues/organs of the birds were observed. As (III), DMA and As(V) were the dominant As species.