PM09 Sediment Quality Assessment Cases
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday
(PM133) Use of a New Standardized Toxicity Test for Assessing Potential Risks to Amphibians Exposed to Whole Sediments.
Loveridge, A1, Lavoie, D2, Corl, W3, Jackson, R3, Speicher, J4, Pillard, D5, 1 CH2M HILL, Boston, MA, USA2 CH2M HILL, Herndon, VA, USA3 Naval Facilities Engineering Command/LANTDIV, Norfolk, VA4 Engineering Field Activity Northeast, US Navy, Philadelphia, PA, USA5 ENSR, Fort Collins, CO, USA
ABSTRACT- Although amphibians are common and sensitive freshwater organisms, risk from sediment-related impacts are rarely evaluated because, until recently, few standardized procedures were available. The United States Navy has recently developed a 10-day, laboratory-based whole sediment toxicity test for amphibian early life-stages (NAVFAC, 2004) that can be used in ecological risk assessments. The method is cost-effective and consistent with existing procedures for sediment toxicity tests (e.g., US EPA, ASTM), and includes lethal and sublethal (growth) endpoints. As part of a baseline ecological risk assessment (BERA), the bioassay was performed using Northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles and whole sediment samples from seven potentially impacted locations and two reference locations at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, North Carolina. A 20-day plus emergence Chironomus tentans toxicity test with survival, growth, and emergence endpoints was also performed with the sediment samples. This study compares the results from both tests and demonstrates the value of assessing sediment impacts to amphibians and multiple species in aquatic systems. It also validates the cost-effectiveness and performance quality of the new amphibian sediment bioassay.
Key words: sediment, amphibians, bioassay