Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026
A Method to Preserve Wetland Roots and Rhizospheres for Elemental Imaging
Published on: February 15, 2021
Pb and Zn imaging and in situ speciation at the geogenic/biogenic interface in sentinel earthworms using electron
A J Morgan1, P Kille, A Bennett
1Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3US, Wales, UK. morganaj1@cardiff.ac.uk
Unlabelled:
Using synchrotron- and electron microscope-based X-ray microanalyses, the distribution and speciation of Zn and Pb were examined in situ in two earthworm species (Dendrodrilus rubidus and Lumbricus rubellus) living in heavily-polluted soils.
Main Findings:
(i) Zn spectra in ingested soil and in tissues more closely resembled Zn(3)(PO(4))(2) than ZnS; (ii) Zn speciation in tissues gave a best fit for Zn to the inner shell of 4 oxygens at 1.94 Å (or nitrogens at 1.96 Å); (iii) the best fit for Pb in tissue was with a shell of oxygens at 2.18 Å and a shell of sulphurs at 2.67 Å; (iv) a component of the Zn and much of the Pb detectable in gut contents was co-distributed with S; (v) Zn and Pb display 'soft' acid affinities in soil, but 'hard' acid affinities in tissue. This is the first metal characterisation study conducted on an invertebrate quench-frozen in the field.
