Air Quality Criteria for Lead Volume II of II - (NEPIS)(EPA) - US ...

sometimes dominate the total Pb accumulated (Knowlton et al., 1983). This adsorption of Pb to
the outer surface of invertebrates can result in strong negative relationships for whole-body Pb
concentration as a function of body mass (i.e., concentrations decrease rapidly with increased
body size and then stabilize) (MacLean et al., 1996).
Drava et al. (2004) investigated Pb concentrations in the muscle of red shrimp Aristeus
antennatus from the northwest Mediterranean. Lead concentrations ranged from 0.04 to
0.31 µg/g dw. No significant relationships between size and Pb concentration in A. antennatus
were found, and concentrations were not related to reproductive status.
Arai et al. (2002) analyzed abalones (Haliotis) at various life stages from coastal regions
of Japan. They investigated growth effects on the uptake and elimination of Pb. Results
indicated a significant negative linear relationship between age, shell length and Pb
concentrations in muscle tissue. The relationship was consistent despite habitat variations in
Pb concentrations between the study sites, suggesting that Pb concentrations changed with
growth in the muscle tissue of test specimens and implying that abalone can mitigate Pb
exposure as they age.
Fish
Douben (1989) investigated the effects of body size and age on Pb body burden in the
stone loach (Noemacheilus barbatulus L.). Fish were caught during two consecutive springs
from three Derbyshire rivers. Results indicated that Pb burden increased slightly with age.
Similarly, Köck et al. (1996) found that concentrations of Pb in the liver and kidneys of Arctic
char (Salvelinus alpinus) taken from oligotrophic alpine lakes were positively correlated with
age. It has been suggested that fish are not able to eliminate Pb completely, and that this leads to
a stepwise accumulation from year to year (Köck et al., 1996). In contrast, Farkas et al. (2003)
found a negative relationship between Pb concentrations and muscle and gill Pb concentrations
in the freshwater fish Abramis brama. Fish were taken from a low-contaminated site and
contained between 0.44 and 3.24 µg/g Pb dw. Negative correlations between metal
concentration and fish size in low-contaminated waters likely results from variations in feeding
rates associated with developmental stages. This hypothesis is consistent with the fact that in
low-contaminated waters, feeding is the main route of uptake and feeding rates decrease with
development in fish (Farkas et al., 2003).
AX7-163