Concentrations of 17 elements in the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), in different tissues of perch (Perca fluviatilis), and in perch intestinal parasites (Acanthocephalus lucii) from the subalpine lake Mondsee, Austria

Concentrations of the elements Al, Ag, Ba, Ca. Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Tl, and Zn were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in the acanthocephalan Acanthocephalus lucii (Muller): in its host, Perca fluviatilis (L.), and in the soft tissue of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas). All animals were collected from the same sam pling site in a subalpine lake, Mondsee, in Austria. Most of the elements w ere found at significantly higher concentrations in the acanthocephalan tha n in different tissues (muscle. liver, and intestinal wall) of its perch ho st. Only Co was concentrated in the liver of perch to a level that was sign ificantly higher than that found in the parasite. Most of the analyzed elem ents were also present at significantly higher concentrations in A. lucii t han in D. polymorpha. Barium and Cr were the only elements recorded at high er concentrations in the mussel compared with the acanthocephalan. Thus, wh en comparing the accumulation of elements, the acanthocephalans appear to b e even more suitable than the zebra mussels in terms of their use in the de tection of metal contamination within aquatic biotopes. Spearman correlatio n analysis revealed that the concentrations of several elements within the parasites decreased with an increasing infrapopulation. Furthermore, the le vels of some elements in the perch liver were negatively correlated with th e weight of A. lucii in the intestine. Thus, it emerged that not only is th ere competition for elements between acanthocephalans inside the gut but th ere is also competition for these elements between the host and the parasit es. The elevated element concentrations demonstrated here in the parasitic worm A. lucii provide support for further investigations of these common he lminths and of their accumulation properties.