Ecotoxicology/Epidemiology

Heavy metal accumulations along a soil-mushroom-consumer food chain in contaminated areas

The major focus of the research is to investigate the contamination of eight heavy metals [Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg, As and Pb] along a soil-mushroom-consumers. The concept is based on the possibility that a former military area, an old landfill sites and a dry pool area of Lieberoser Heide are contaminated by heavy metals. Since the study area is now a nature reserve place for ecology, it becomes imperative to investigate and measure or determine the concentration of heavy metals using sensitive analytical laboratory methods like AAS or AES (Spectroscopy). Thus the hypothesis; “heavy metal contaminations on a former military and a nearby old landfill sites cascade up the food chain with the dominant dung beetle species (Geotrupes vernalis) being a crucial link between soil contaminations and higher trophic level consumers”