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Salinity, dissolved organic carbon, and interpopulation variability hardly influence the accumulation and effect of copper in Mytilus edulis
Author(s) -
Deruytter David,
Vandegehuchte Michiel B.,
Garrevoet Jan,
Blust Ronny,
Vincze Laszlo,
De Schamphelaere Karel A.C.,
Janssen Colin R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.3736
Subject(s) - mytilus , salinity , dissolved organic carbon , mussel , environmental chemistry , population , pollutant , blue mussel , seawater , environmental science , ecology , biology , chemistry , demography , sociology
To improve the ecological relevance of environmental risk assessment, an improved understanding is needed of 1) the influence of environmental conditions on the toxicity of pollutants, and 2) the effect of these factors in combination with possible interpopulation variability. The influences of salinity and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on the accumulation and effect of copper (Cu) to settled mussels were investigated with mussels from a North Sea and a Baltic Sea population. We found that both populations were equally Cu‐sensitive, even though the Baltic Sea population lives in suboptimal conditions. Baltic Sea mussels, however, accumulated more Cu. This suggests that these populations may have different ways of coping with excess Cu. The influence of salinity on Cu toxicity to settled mussels was limited for both populations. An increase in DOC did not decrease the Cu accumulation or effect in either population. This suggests that DOC–Cu complexes are bioavailable for settled mussels. These findings are in contrast with previous research which indicated that DOC decreased the toxicity and accumulation of Cu in the D‐larvae life stage. As a consequence, the mussel larval stage is not the most Cu‐sensitive life stage at high DOC concentrations. Furthermore, a DOC correction factor for Cu toxicity cannot be used for settled mussels. This should be accounted for in future marine Cu environmental risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2074–2082. © 2017 SETAC