Premium
Bioavailability and chronic toxicity of cadmium in sediment to the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus
Author(s) -
Dewitt Theodore H.,
Swartz Richard C.,
Hansen David J.,
McGovern Douglas,
Berry Walter J.
Publication year - 1996
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.5620151205
Subject(s) - cadmium , sediment , environmental chemistry , estuary , bioavailability , benthic zone , ecotoxicology , toxicity , chemistry , biology , ecology , pharmacology , paleontology , organic chemistry
Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of interstitial water metal concentrations and simultaneously extracted metals/acid‐volatile sulfide (SEM/AVS) ratios in explaining the acute toxicity of sediment‐associated metals to benthic organisms. However, no full life‐cycle chronic marine or estuarine tests have been conducted for this purpose. In this study, cohorts of newborn amphipods, Leptocheirus plumulosus , were exposed to cadmium‐spiked estuarine sediment for 28 d to determine effects on mortality, growth, and reproduction relative to interstitial water and SEM/AVS normalization. Seven treatments of cadmium were tested: 0 (control), 0.34, 0.74, 1.31, 1.55, 2.23, and 4.82 M SEM cd /AVS ratios (measured concentrations). Interstitial water cadmium (IWcd) and sediment concentrations of SEM cd and AVS were monitored periodically and by depth during the exposure. When sediment SEM cd /AVS ratios were ≤1.55, mean IW cd concentrations were less than the 96‐h water‐only cadmium LC50 for juvenile and subadult L. plumulosus , and mortality, growth, and reproduction were not affected. When SEM cd /AVS ratios were ≥2.23, IW cd concentrations were more than 100 times greater than the 96‐h water‐only cadmium LC50, and all amphipods died. These results are consistent with predictions of metal bioavailability from acute tests with metal‐spiked sediments, i.e., that sediments with SEM cd /AVS ratios <1 are not toxic, while sediments with SEM cd /AVS ratios >1 may be toxic.