Invertebrates, terrestrial cadmium

Cadmium biomagnifies in terrestrial food chains and tends to accumulate in liver and kidneys of older apex organisms (Scheuhammer 1987). This process was documented in the chain of soil to vegetation to invertebrates to upper trophic level consumers, including roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), bam owls (Tyto alba), weasels (Mystela nivalis), and kestrels (Falco tinnunculus Gorree... 

Most terrestrial invertebrates have limited access to water and feed on solid matter. As a consequence, they take up most of their nutrients by ingestion of foodstuffs that are also the vehicle for ingestion of contaminants. Many of the class a , metals that are taken up are found in membrane-bound granules in the cells of the hepatopancreas, although uncertainties remain as to the initiation of granule formation. Other metals, such as the class b metal cadmium, may be in the granule or may be bound to a metallothionein type protein. 

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