Cadmium accumulation and metallothionein synthesis in freshwater bivalves (Pyganodon grandis): relative influence of the metal exposure gradient versus limnological variability

The relative influence of limnological confounding factors on cadmium (Cd) bioaccumulation and metallothionein (MT) synthesis was quantified in natural populations of freshwater bivalves (Pyganodon grandis) living in lakes along a Cd concentration gradient. During the ice-free period, we measured 15 environmental variables in the water compartment and determined total concentrations of Cd and MT in the gills of bivalves at 37 littoral stations in 20 lakes distributed across the mining area of Rouyn-Noranda in northwestern Québec. A multiple linear regression model including pH (+), dissolved Ca concentrations (−) and free Cd2+ concentrations at the sediment–water interface (+) explained 74% of the variability in Cd concentrations in the bivalve gills. Dissolved Ca (−) and free Cd2+ (+) together explained 62% of the variation in MT concentrations in the bivalve gills. Partial linear regression analyses indicated that the limnological factorsʹ pure and shared effects together accounted for 48 and 45% of the total variation in Cd and MT concentrations in the gills, respectively. A lake selection procedure that could be applied in monitoring programs is proposed to minimise the relative influence of these confounding variables.