Short-term sublethal in situ toxicity assay with Hediste diversicolor (polychaeta) for estuarine sediments based on postexposure feeding

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2005

Authors

Moreira, SM (Author) Other; Moreira Santos, M (Author) Other; Guilhermino, L. (Author) ICBAS; Ribeiro, R (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Vol. 24

Pages: 2010-2018

ISSN: 0730-7268

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 31 Citations

Scopus - 31 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-21F

DOI: 10.1897/04-473r1.1

Abstract (EN): This study evaluated a short-term sublethal endpoint for in situ toxicity assays for estuarine sediments, based on postexposure feeding of the polychaete Hediste (Nereis) diversicolor Muller. A method for precisely quantifying postexposure feeding rates of H. diversicolor was established under laboratory conditions using Artemia franciscana Kellog nauplii. The sensitivity of the postexposure feeding response to copper was investigated by comparing postexposure feeding rates to growth and lethality. The 48-h and 96-h median lethal concentration (LC50) of copper were 241 and 125 mu g/L, respectively, whereas the 48-h median inhibitory concentration (IC50) for postexposure feeding and the 20-d IC50 for growth were 52 and 25 mu g/L of copper, respectively. The influence of different exposure conditions (substrate, temperature, salinity, food availability, and light) on H. diversicolor postexposure feeding was assessed; temperature and salinity were found to influence significantly postexposure feeding. The effectiveness of the proposed in situ assay was investigated by deploying it at two reference and six contaminated Portuguese estuaries. A 48-h exposure period was followed by a 1-h postexposure feeding period. High organism recoveries (89-100%) were obtained. Postexposure feeding was depressed significantly (17-90%) at all contaminated sites relatively to reference sites. The proposed in situ assay with H. diversicolor was shown to be a potential useful tool for estuarine sediment toxicity testing.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 9