The Land Snail, Eobania vermiculata, as a Bioindicator of the Heavy Metal Pollution in the Urban Areas of Sulaimani, Iraq

Abstract

Land snails are crucial consumers in the terrestrial environment and beneficial significant bioindicators to evaluate the chemical impact in the ecosystem, especially on urban lands. The present study aimed to investigate the concentration of heavy metals such as As, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn in urban soil and study whether Eobania vermiculata acts as a bioindicator for heavy metal contamination in an urban area. Thirty soil and snail samples in triplicate from each sampling site were taken from the urban areas of Suliamani. After a microwave-assisted digestion procedure, every sample was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of chromium (Cr) in each snail sample was significantly high. The maximum Cr concentration (15.87 mg kg−1) was recorded in the snail sample collected from Ali Kamal Park, which was adjacent to a very crowded traffic road. The As concentration in snail samples ranged from 0.08 to 1.004 mg kg−1, and it was below the permissible limits. However, the concentrations of heavy metals in urban soil locations were below their background measurements, except for nickel (Ni) which was above the permissible limits. The safest site in the study area was Chaviland 1, while the most contaminated site was the Ha-wary Shar Park. The snails bioaccumulated metals in their tissues in the following order, Cr > Zn > Ni, and this bioaccumulation occurred more on the main road locations, which represented potentially contaminated places due to anthropogenic activities. Moreover, there was no correlation among the heavy metals within the soil samples when compared to the similar metals in the snail samples, due to the low concentration of heavy metals in soil, excluding Ni, from where the snail samples were collected. Consequently, the land snail, E. vermiculata, is an appropriate sentinel organism for some metals, mainly for Cr, and the bioindicator monitoring with this snail should be extended to mixtures of heavy metals, since such relationships frequently occur in soil.

Data on heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Zn) in soil and biota (common nettle and Roman snail) around the power plant TC Kosova A in Obiliq (Kosovo)

“…In some cases, such as different parts of the nettle plant (rhizomes, stems, leaves) and shells, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) for Pb and Zn is <1, indicating biomagnification along the food chain. These results are consistent with those of other studies (Nica et al, 2012;Salih et al, 2021). In other cases, BCF is close to 1, while very low translocation values were recorded for Ni.…”

“…The nettle plant (U. dioica) has been shown to bioaccumulate and translocate heavy metals, making it a potential candidate for phytoremediation and soil amendment processes, particularly for Pb . Heavy metals, particularly Pb, Zn, and Ni, bioaccumulate in the shells and tissues of snails, and this bioaccumulation is more common in industrial areas and along urban highways (Salih et al, 2021). To fully understand the human risks associated with heavy metal pollution, further research is needed on other plant species (cereals, fruits, vegetables), different locations, and routes of metal exposure, such as the consumption of animal foods (meat, milk, eggs), drinking water, or air contact (Filimon et al, 2021).…”

Biomonitoring of manganese metal pollution in water and its impacts on biological activities of Biomphalaria alexandrina snail and larvicidal potencies

“…Environmental metal pollution represents a dramatic problem in the world (Salih et al 2021 ). The heavy metals are natural parts of the earth’s crust, but higher levels of these metals could threaten the environment and the biological system of human (Ugbaja et al 2020 ; Briffa et al 2020 ).…”

Biomphalaria alexandrina snail as a bio-indicator of pollution with Manganese metal and its effect on physiological, immunological, histopathological parameters and larvicidal potencies

“…Environmental metal pollution represents a dramatic problem in the world (Salih et al 2021). The heavy metals are natural parts of the earth's crust, but the higher levels of these metals could threat the environment and human biological system (Ugbaja et al 2020;Briffa et al 2020).…”