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Abstract
The current study reports the effects of heavy metals issued from the emissions of phosphate and their bioaccumulation in the soils, leaf litter, and the terrestrial isopod Porcellionides pruinosus in the vicinity of Gabes-Ghannouch industrial complex. Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations were measured in soils, leaf litter, and P. pruinosus individuals, collected from four stations located at different distances from the factory. Results showed that heavy metal concentrations in soils varied from one site to another and did not reflect those measured in individuals. In contrast, a positive correlation was found between the isopods’ body length and the distance from the pollution source, revealing the isopod sensitivity to the soil metal concentrations. The bioaccumulation factor was calculated using soil and leaf litter as a solid support with the aim of ordering the metal accumulation in P. pruinosus for each site. Overall, P. pruinosus could be defined as a macroconcentrator of Cd, Zn, and Cu (BAF > 2) and as a deconcentrator of Pb (BAF < 1).
Acknowledgments
The study was supported by the Research Laboratory of Biodiversity, Management and Conservation of Biological systems, University of Tunis El Manar, Faculty of Science of Tunis. We gratefully acknowledge the support of all members of the LGCgE regarding their considerable assistance in the analyses and Mr. Abderraouf Hzami (Ph.D. student) for his help in the conception of the map. The authors are grateful to Ms Najua Abdelkefi (language expert) for proofreading the manuscript.
