Abstract
The concentrations of elements in biological tissue may be influenced by a large number of environmental and physiological factors. Even when all known sources of variability have been either eliminated or taken into account, a very high degree of unexplained residual variability may persist between individual organisms within the same population. In the present study, a simple statistical method is described which permits the calculation of the residual variabilities of element concentrations, even from complex multivariate data, and allows statistical comparison between elements to be made (either within a single tissue, between different tissues or between different species). The method is quite general and could also be used for studying residual variability in any other natural phenomena (e.g. enzyme concentrations, water temperature). The case of 25 element concentrations in the whole soft tissue of the mussel Mytilus edulis collected from Bellevue, Newfoundland, Canada in June 1988 was used as a model. It was clearly shown that some elements (e.g. the alkali earth elements and B, Mg and Cu) had extremely low residual variability while other elements (e.g. Ce, Zn, Ba, La, U, Pb, Ag, Y, Sr and Ca) showed unusually high degrees of residual variability. Al also showed very high variability but this appeared to be due to the presence of undigested sediment in the gut rather than to residual variability. Important sources of non-residual variability included sex, size and growth rate. The method described in this paper could be used as an initial screening test for pinpointing intrapopulation genetic differences in element metabolism between individual organisms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Bayne, B. L., Brown, D. A., Burns, K., Dixon, D. R., Ivanovici, A., Livingstone, D. R., Lowe, D. M., Moore, M. N. Stebbing A. R. D., Widdows, J. (1985) The effects of stress and pollution on marine animals. Praeger, London
Boyden, C. R. (1977). Effect of size upon metal content of shellfish. J. mar. biol. Ass U.K. 57: 675–714
Boyden, C. R., Phillips, D. J. H. (1981). Seasonal variation and inherent variability of trace elements in oysters and their implications for indicator studies. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 5: 29–40
Duval, J. S., Schwarzer, T., Adams J. A. S. (1971). Lognormal distribution of trace elements in the environment. In: Hemphill, D. (ed.) Trace substances in environmental health. Vol. 4, University of Missouri, Columbia, p. 120–131
Esmen, N. A., Hammad, Y. H. (1977). Lognormality of environmental sampling data. J. Environ. Sci. Health A12: 29–41
Ferguson, G. A. (1976). Statistical analysis in psychology and education. 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York
George, S. G. (1983). Heavy metal detoxification in Mytilus kidney — an in vitro study of Cd- and Zn-binding to isolated tertiary lysosomes. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 76 C: 59–65
George, S. G., Coombs, T. L., Pirie, B. J. S. (1982). Characterization of metal-containing granules from the kidney of the common mussel, Mytilus edulis Biochim. biophys. Acta 716: 61–71
George, S. G., Pirie, B. J. S. (1980). Metabolism of zinc in the mussel, Mytilus edulis (L.): a combined ultrastructural and biochemical study. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 60: 575–590
Giesy, Jr., J. P., Wiener, J. G. (1977). Frequency distributions of trace metal concentrations in five freshwater fishes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 106: 393–403
Glasnapp, D. R., Poggio, J. P. (1985). Essentials of Statistical Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co., Columbus
International Mussel Watch (1980). National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Lewontin, R. C. (1966). On the measurement of relative variability. Syst. Zool. 15: 141–142
Lobel, P. B. (1986). Role of the kidney in determining the whole soft tissue zinc concentration, of individual mussels (Mytilus edulis). Mar. Biol 92: 355–359
Lobel, P. B. (1987a). Intersite, intrasite and inherent variability of the whole soft tissue zinc concentrations of individual mussels Mytilus edulis: importance of the kidney. Mar. envir Res. 21: 59–71
Lobel, P. B. (1987b). Inherent variability in the ratio of zinc to other elements in the kidney of the mussel Mytilus edulis. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 87C: 47–50
Lobel, P. B. (1987c). Short-term and long-term uptake of zinc by the mussel, Mytilus edulis: a study in individual variability. Archs envir. Contam. Toxic. 16: 723–732
Lobel, P. B., Marshall, H. D. (1988). A unique low molecular weight zinc-binding ligand in the kidney cytosol of the mussel Mytilus edulis, and its relationship to the inherent variability of zinc accumulation in this organism. Mar. Biol 99: 101–105
Lobel, P. B., Mogie, P., Wright, D. A., Wu, B. L. (1982). Metal accumulation in four molluscs. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 13: 170–174
Lobel, P. B., Wright, D. A. (1982a). Relationship between body zinc concentration and allometric growth measuremtns, in the mussel Mytilus edulis. Mar. Biol. 66: 145–150
Lobel, P. B., Wright, D. A. (1982b). Total body zinc concentration and allometric growth ratios in Mytilus edulis collected from different shore levels. Mar. Biol. 66: 231–236
Phillips, D. J. H. (1980). Quantitative aquatic biological indicators. Applied Sciences Publishers, Essex
Roesijadi, G., Young, J. S., Drum, A. S., Gurtisen, J. M. (1984). Behavior of trace elements in Mytilus edulis during a reciprocal transplant field experiment. Mar. Biol. Prog. Ser. 18: 155–170
Seed, R. (1968). Factors influencing shell shape in the mussel Mytilus edulis. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 48: 561–584
Snedecor, G. W., Cochran, W. G., (1980). Statistical Methods. 7th edn. Iowa State University Press, Ames
Talbot, V., Simpson, C. (1983). The validity of using arithmetic means to summarize environmental pollution data. Chem. Aust 50: 156–158
Wright, D. A., Mihursky, J. A., Phelps, H. L. (1985). Trace metals in Chesapeake Bay oysters: intra-sample variability and its implications for biomonitoring. Mar. envir Res. 16: 181–197
Zar, J. H. (1984). Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, p. 125–126
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
OSC contribution no. 27
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lobel, P.B., Belkhode, S.P., Jackson, S.E. et al. A universal method for quantifying and comparing the residual variability of element concentrations in biological tissues using 25 elements in the mussel Mytilus edulis as a model. Mar. Biol. 102, 513–518 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00438353
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00438353