MP3 Chronic and Sublethal Sediment Toxicity
254 Portland Ballroom
1:20 PM - 4:40 PM, Monday
() Comparison of acute and chronic toxicity methods for evaluating bay and estuarine sediments in California.
Bay, S1, Greenstein, D1, Anderson, B, Phillips, B2, Chandler, G3, Farrar, D4, Ringwood, A5, Keppler, C6, 1 Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Westminster, CA, USA2 Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, Monterey, CA, USA3 Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA4 US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA5 University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA6 Marine Resources Research Institute, Charleston, SC, USA
ABSTRACT- A wide variety of chronic and sublethal sediment toxicity methods have been used to assess sediment quality, but relatively few methods have been standardized and their relative sensitivity is poorly documented. The relative sensitivity and feasibility of six chronic protocols for assessing sediment quality in California bays and estuaries was evaluated. Split samples from 15 stations located in the Southern California Bight or in San Francisco Bay were distributed to four laboratories for testing using six methods: a sediment-water interface method with sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) or mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) embryos; a benthic copepod (Amphiascus tenuiremus) life cycle test; a polychaete (Neanthes arenaceodentata) survival and growth test; an amphipod (Leptocheirus plumulosus) survival, growth and reproduction test, a larval clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) survival and growth test; and an oyster (Crassostrea virginica) lysosomal destabilization assay. Acute toxicity was also measured (10-day survival) using two species of amphipod (Eohaustorius estuarius and Leptocheirus plumulosus). Sediment chemistry, grain size and benthic infaunal communities were analyzed for each station. The chronic methods varied greatly in their sensitivity to the samples. Tests using bivalves were least sensitive and detected toxicity in 7-13% of samples compared to an incidence of acute toxicity of 27-60%. The copepod and amphipod life-cycle tests were the most sensitive, with an incidence of 80% and 67%, respectively. Comparisons among the test endpoints and with sediment characteristics indicate that the relative sensitivity and feasibility of these tests is influenced by multiple factors, including species-specific sensitivity, exposure conditions, and sediment grain size.
Key words: chronic toxicity, sediments, acute toxicity