Mobility and Uptake of Antimony, Cadmium and Cobalt in Dragonfly Larvae (Odonata, Anisoptera) as a Function of Road Salt Concentrations—a Tracer Experiment

Abstract

Road run off typically contains a variety of contaminants such as metals and road salt. Odonata larvae are important members in a variety of freshwater ecosystems which may receive road runoff. The objective of the present work was to investigate the uptake and excretion kinetics of cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co) and antimony (Sb) in odonata larvae using radioactive tracer technique, and secondly how addition of road salt would affect the uptake. Larvae were individually exposed in beakers containing sediment spiked with 109Cd, 60Co and 125Sb and water with different concentrations of road salt. The results showed that at higher salt concentrations more 109Cd and 60Co were mobilized from the sediments, however, the uptake in the larvae decreased. Antimony-125 was strongly bound in the sediment, and addition of salt did not affect the accumulation in the larvae significantly.