Chronic Toxicity of Binary Mixtures of Six Metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) to the Great Pond Snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Although metal-mixture toxicity has recently received increasing attention, there is still insufficient knowledge on joint effects occurring in chronic exposures to relatively low metal concentrations. We characterized the chronic toxicity of binary mixtures of six metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in 14 day growth tests with juveniles of the metal-sensitive freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Observations were compared with predictions from individual metals and from the two most frequently used mixture models: concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA). Predictions based on measured total dissolved concentrations and on calculated free-ion activities did not differ greatly because multimetal geochemical interactions in the tests were limited. In around half of the tests, mixture toxicity was higher than the greatest effect caused by the individual metals, arguing in favor of considering joint effects. When the additive models were used, the great majority of interactions were either additive or less than additive (i.e., antagonism). In general, the IA model was the most accurate, while the CA model was the most conservative. Along with other studies, these findings suggest that, at least for binary combinations, the simple CA model may provide satisfactory protection from the chronic metal toxicity of metal mixtures to aquatic organisms.