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Influence of Parasitism on Trace Element Contents in Tissues of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Its Parasites Mesocestoides spp. (Cestoda) and Toxascaris leonina (Nematoda)

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Abstract

Bioaccumulation of cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc in 56 foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and their parasites Mesocestoides spp. (Cestoda) and Toxascaris leonina (Nematoda) was studied. The levels of heavy metals were determined in the livers and kidneys of the animals depending on parasitism in the following ranges: Pb, 0.029–3.556; Cd, 0.055–9.967; Cr, 0.001–0.304; Cu, 4.15–41.15; Mn, 1.81–19.94; Ni: 0.037–0.831; Zn, 52.0–212.9 μg/g dry weight (dw). Cd in parasites (0.038–3.678 μg/g dw) were comparable with those in the livers of the host and lower than in the kidneys (0.095–6.032 μg/g dw). Contents of Pb, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn in cestodes were predominantly higher than those in the kidney and liver of the host. Median lead levels in Mesocestoides spp. (45.6 μg/g dw) were 52-fold higher than in the kidney and liver of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) infected by both parasites and median Pb values in T. leonina (8.98 μg/g dw) were 8-fold higher than in the tissues of the parasitized red fox. Bioaccumulation factors of copper, zinc, nickel, and manganese are lower than those of lead and mostly range from 1.9 to 24 for Mesocestoides spp. and from 1.5 to 6 for nematode T. leonina depending on the tissue of host and element. A significant decrease in the content of Pb was found in the kidney of animals infected by T. leonina (0.260 μg/g dw) as well as those infected by Mesocestoides spp. (0.457 μg/g dw) in comparison with the lead content (0.878 μg/g dw) in the kidneys of the nonparasitized red fox. Regardless of a bioaccumulation of copper and manganese in the parasites, a significant increase of the concentrations of Mn and Cu was observed in the host’s livers infected predominantly by Mesocestoides spp.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by project MSM 6046070901 of the Ministry of Education, Youths and Sports, Czech Republic and by project No. 524/06/0687 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic. The authors declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of the Czech Republic, in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, 165 21, Prague 6–Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Ivana Jankovská, Jaroslav Vadlejch & Iva Langrová

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, 165 21, Prague 6–Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Daniela Miholová & Miloslav Šulc

  3. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Science, Czech University of Life Sciences, 165 21, Prague 6–Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Vladimír Bejček

  4. Department of Agroenviromental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, 165 21, Prague 6–Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Jiřina Száková

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  1. Ivana Jankovská
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  2. Daniela Miholová
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  3. Vladimír Bejček
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  4. Jaroslav Vadlejch
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  6. Jiřina Száková
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  7. Iva Langrová
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Correspondence to Ivana Jankovská.

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Jankovská, I., Miholová, D., Bejček, V. et al. Influence of Parasitism on Trace Element Contents in Tissues of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Its Parasites Mesocestoides spp. (Cestoda) and Toxascaris leonina (Nematoda). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 58, 469–477 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-009-9355-2

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