Bioaccumulation and Biotransportation of Heavy Metals Along a WaterSoil-Plant-Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) Food Chain: A Case Study from the Southern Gangetic Plains, West Bengal, India

Cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) were estimated along a water-soil-plant-firefly food chain for understanding bioaccumulation and biotransformation at the study site, i.e., areas surrounding a surface water body exposed to multidirectional anthropogenic usage (bathing, cleaning, washing) and periodic exposures of domestic sewerages and runoffs from nearby agricultural areas. In the food chain components, the trend of accumulation followed Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Cd. Chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) levels were higher in sediment (80 ppm and 34.4 ppm, respectively). Lower N/P ratio (0.08) together with high pH (7.8±1.2) in water indicated the eutrophic conditions. Dissolved metals (