Selenium migration and accumulationin honeybee food chain (Apis mellifera L.) in forest-steppe and steppe ecosystems of the Dniester river valley

Selenium migration and accumulation peculiarities in food chain honeybees - honey - bee bread - propo- lis in forest-steppe and steppe ecosystems of the Dniester River Valley are studied for the first time. Mean selenium concentrations are shown to be in honeybee 667 ± 394 μg/kg, in bee bread 249 ± 55 μg/kg, in propolis 142 ± 58 μg/kg, in honey - 109 ± 29 μg/kg. Probably, the main source of selenium for honeybees was pollen and bee bread. Forest-steppe and steppe landscape and geochemical conditions reflected on selenium bioaccumulation levels in the food chains. Both trofic transfer factor and selenium content in honeybee body was higher in steppe ecosystems. Element composition analysis showed that honeybees tended to accumulate higher concentrations of V, Cd, Al, Sn, Na, Ni, Fe, Co, Cr, propolis - Fe, Cr, I, V, Li, Cu, Al, Cd, Co, Na, Mn, Ni, Pb, Hg, As, and honey - Cr, Zn in steppe ecosystems. Selenium correlation with majority macro- and trace elements in honeybees was insignificant and low excluding Se-Na interaction ( R = +0.829, p