Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the lizard Psammodromus algirus after a tailing-dam collapse in Aznalcóllar (Southwest Spain).

Quantification of heavy metal concentrations in biota is a common technique that helps environmental managers measure the level of pollutants circulating in ecosystems. Despite interest in heavy metals as indicators of localized pollution, few studies have assessed these pollutants in reptiles. In 1998, the tailing pond of a pyrite mine near Aznalcóllar (southwestern Spain), containing mud with high heavy metal concentrations, collapsed, releasing 6 million m(3) of toxic sludge into the Guadiamar Basin. Here we analyze heavy metal concentrations in the most common reptile in the area, the large psammodromus, Psammodromus algirus, a rather small lizard. We quantified levels of several elements (Hg, Sb, Cd, Cr, Tl, Sn, Ba, Cu, Pb, Sr, Mn, Rb, As, and Zn) in lizard tail clips collected in and around the affected area during the springs of 2005 and 2006. Samples were collected from two contaminated localities, one directly affected by the spill, and another adjacent to the tailing pond, but not covered by toxic mud. We also collected samples from a nonpolluted control site in the same basin. We found higher concentrations of As, Tl, Sn, Pb, Cd, and Cu in lizards from the affected area than in lizards from the control site, indicating the continued presence of heavy metal pollutants in the terrestrial food chain 8 years after the mine accident. We did not uncover sexual or annual differences in heavy metal concentrations, although concentrations increased with lizard size. We discuss how heavy metals moved across the food chain to lizards, despite intensive restoration efforts after the accident, and suggest that reptiles to be included in biomonitoring programs of heavy metals pollution in terrestrial habitats.