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Trace metal availability and effects on benthic community structure in floodplain lakes
Author(s) -
Van Griethuysen Corine,
Van Baren Joyce,
Peeters Edwin T. H. M.,
Koelmans Albert A.
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1897/02-583
Subject(s) - floodplain , benthic zone , trace metal , trace (psycholinguistics) , environmental science , environmental chemistry , streams , ecology , metal , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , computer science
Abstract Effects of contaminants on communities are difficult to assess and poorly understood. We analyzed in situ effects of trace metals and common environmental variables on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in floodplain lakes. Alternative measures of trace metal availability were evaluated, including total metals, metals normalized on organic carbon (OC) or clay, simultaneously extracted metals (SEM), combinations of SEM and acid‐volatile sulfide (AVS), and metals accumulated by detritivore invertebrates (Oligochaeta). Accumulated metal concentrations correlated positively with sediment trace metals and negatively with surface water dissolved OC. Sixty‐eight percent of the variation in benthic community composition was explained by a combination of 11 environmental variables, including sediment, water, and morphological characteristics with trace metals. Metals explained 2 to 6% of the community composition when SEM — AVS or individual SEM concentrations were regarded. In contrast, total, normalized, and accumulated metals were not significantly linked to community composition. We conclude that examination of SEM or SEM — AVS concentrations is useful for risk assessment of trace metals on the community level.