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Mayfly‐mediated sorption of toxicants into sediments
Author(s) -
Gerould Sarah,
Gloss Steven P.
Publication year - 1986
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.5620050707
Subject(s) - mayfly , burrow , sediment , environmental chemistry , water column , sorption , contamination , bioturbation , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , chemistry , geology , ecology , adsorption , biology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , nymph , organic chemistry
Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of the burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata , on the movement of dihexylphthalate (DHP) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) from the water column into the sediment. Beakers containing sediment and mayflies were introduced into flow‐through aquaria and were sampled at intervals up to 5 d. Sediment was taken from surface and subsurface areas with and without mayflies. The two experiments were run at concentrations of [ 14 C]DHP and [ 14 C]HCB of 0.066 and 0.062 ng/L, respectively. Subsurface sediment without mayflies was uncontaminated. Toxicant concentration, based on area (ng/cm 2 ), was greater at the surface than on the burrow walls for both compounds. Concentration in the bottom of the burrow was greater than that in the middle (5 cm deep) for DHP but similar to that at the middle for HCB. Total mass of DHP in the burrow wall was about equal to the mass on the surface, indicating that mayflies were capable of doubling the amount of DHP sorbed onto a given surface area of sediment. The adsorption of contaminants from water pulsed through mayfly burrows increased the depth of penetration and mass of contaminants in subsurface sediments.