The first evidence of accumulation and avoidance behavior of macroinvertebrates in a forest soil spiked with human-made iron nanoparticles: A field experiment

Pérez-Hernández Hermes; Fernández-Luqueño Fabián; Huerta-Lwanga Esperanza; Mendoza-Vega Jorge; Alvarez-Solís José David; Hernández-Gutiérrez Edilberto; Valle-Mora Javier Francisco; Pérez-Sato Marcos

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04860

The first evidence of accumulation and avoidance behavior of macroinvertebrates in a forest soil spiked with human-made iron nanoparticles: A field experiment

Heliyon. 2020 Sep 14;6(9):e04860. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04860. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Pérez-Hernández Hermes¹, Fernández-Luqueño Fabián², Huerta-Lwanga Esperanza¹, Mendoza-Vega Jorge¹, Alvarez-Solís José David³, Hernández-Gutiérrez Edilberto¹, Valle-Mora Javier Francisco⁴, Pérez-Sato Marcos⁵

Affiliations

¹ El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Agroecología, Unidad Campeche, Av Poligono s/n, Ciudad Industrial, Lerma, Campeche, Mexico.
² Sustainability of Natural Resources and Energy Program, Cinvestav-Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, C.P. 25900, Mexico.
³ El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur S/N, Barrio de María Auxiliadora, C.P. 29290, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
⁴ El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Estadística, Carretera Aeropuerto Antiguo Km 2.5, C.P. 30700, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico.
⁵ Facultad de Ingeniería Agrohidraulica, PE de Ingeniería Agronómica y Zootecnia de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Reforma 165, Colonia Centro, CP. 73900, Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, Mexico.

Abstract

Both earthworms and terrestrial isopods have been used to evaluate the quality of contaminated soil by NPs. However, most experiments have been conducted in the laboratory and under greenhouse conditions. Besides, little is known of Fe accumulation in earthworms from iron NPs (Fe NPs) under natural conditions. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of manufactured NPs on the accumulation of Fe in macroinvertebrates from forest soil. Our results revealed that earthworms consume low amounts of Fe in a concentration of 1000 mg Fe NPs kg^-1 of dry soil, with a behavior constant over time. Besides, we observed that earthworms could not detect Fe at low concentrations (1 or 10 mg Fe NPs kg^-1), so they do not limit soil consumption, which translates into high amounts of Fe in their bodies. By contrast, the content of Fe in organisms is inversely proportional to increasing concentrations in the soil (R² = -0.41, p < 0.05). Therefore, although studies are needed, in addition to considering environmental factors and the physicochemical properties of the soil, endogenous worms in the evaluated area could, under natural conditions, be useful to inform us of contamination of NP manufactured from Faith. Besides, for future research, a novel methodology should be considered to demonstrate more realistic avoidance behavior under field conditions.

Keywords: Agricultural science; Agricultural soil science; Clitellata; Eisenia fetida; Environmental impact assessment; Environmental pollution; Environmental science; Environmental toxicology; Iron oxides; Nanoparticles earthworm's avoidance; Nanoremediation; Nanotoxicology; Soil organisms; Soil pollution; Soil science.