Premium
Effects of acid‐volatile sulfide on zinc bioavailability and toxicity to benthic macroinvertebrates: A spiked‐sediment field experiment
Author(s) -
Liber Karsten,
Call Daniel J.,
Markee Thomas P.,
Schmude Kurt L.,
Balcer Mary D.,
Whiteman Frank W.,
Ankley Gerald T.
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.5620151207
Subject(s) - benthic zone , zinc , environmental chemistry , sediment , bioavailability , sulfide , ecotoxicology , chemistry , dry weight , ecology , biology , botany , paleontology , bioinformatics , organic chemistry
Acid‐volatile sulfide (AVS) has been proposed as the primary normalization phase for the development of sediment quality criteria for certain cationic metals. This study was designed to assist in this development by providing necessary field data on the relationships among season, AVS concentrations, and zinc bioavailability and toxicity in freshwater sediments. Zinc was spiked into uncontaminated sediments collected from a local pond, creating five simultaneously extracted metal (SEM) concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 12.0 μmol/g dry weight. The spiked sediments were transferred to 4‐L plastic trays, returned to the bottom of the pond, and sampled on five dates during 1993‐1994. Results revealed a pronounced increase in AVS concentration with increasing zinc concentration. Acid‐volatile sulfide concentrations in zinc‐spiked sediments displayed only minor seasonal variation but were lowest in surficial (0‐2 cm) sediments. Acid‐volatile sulfide concentrations always exceeded SEM concentrations at ≤6.0 μmol SEM/g; only at 12.0 μmol SEM/g did SEM/AVS ratios exceed 1.0. Zinc was rarely detected in pore water at any treatment and never at concentrations which should have posed a hazard to benthic macroinvertebrates. No substantial effect on colonization of zinc‐spiked sediments by benthic macroinvertebrates was observed. Only oligochaetes (Naididae) were significantly reduced in abundance at the high zinc treatment, although reductions were occasionally evident for other taxa. Lack of noteworthy pore‐water zinc concentrations and lack of associated, ecologically meaningful effects were attributed to the increase in AVS levels observed with increasing SEM zinc sediment concentration. The increases in AVS theoretically resulted from a replacement of natural iron and manganese sulfides with the more stable zinc sulfide complex.