Accumulation of cadmium in periphyton under various freshwater speciation conditions

The relationship between cadmium speciation and accumulation in periphyton was examined at environmentally relevant Cd concentrations under natural freshwater conditions. Periphyton was exposed in artificial recirculating channels containing natural freshwater to two Cd concentrations (20 and 40 nM), for which speciation was modified by the addition of a synthetic organic ligand (nitrilotriacetate, NTA). Labile metal concentrations were measured with the technique of diffusion gradient in thin-films (DGT) and major Cd species were estimated by modeling. Total and intracellular Cd content in periphyton increased within both Cd exposure concentrations with NTA additions and were related to an increase in DGT-labile Cd, which was caused by the competition of NTA with probably colloidal species. Bioaccumulation was thus not controlled by the free Cd concentrations, as predicted by the free ion activity model, but by the diffusion of labile Cd-NTA complexes, which constituted a large fraction of DGT-labile Cd. These findings confirm the importance of labile species for Cd accumulation in periphyton under freshwater conditions, as predicted by models considering diffusion and uptake kinetics.