Abstract
The sediment formed by the tailings of an abandoned mine, which discharged into Portman Bay, Murcia, SE-Spain, was tested to establish a possible gradient of heavy metals. The results were compared with tolerance limits of what was calculated from control sites. Whole sediment toxicity tests were performed on two amphipod species, Gammarus aequicauda and Microdeutopus gryllotalpa, while sediment-water interface and porewater toxicity tests were performed on three sea urchins species, Arbacia lixula, Paracentrotus lividus and Sphaerechinus granularis. The sensitivity of these marine organisms was evaluated by exposure tests using the reference substances: ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7), sodium dodecyl sulfate (C12H25NaO4S) and zinc sulfate (ZnSO4). The concentration of heavy metals decreased along the pollution gradient. Amphipod 10 day acute toxicity tests clearly demonstrated the gradient of toxicity. The sediment-water interface tests conducted with sea urchins also pointed to a pollution gradient and were more sensitive than the tests involving amphipods.
Highlights
Sediment provides a habitat for many marine organisms and is a major deposit of the more persistent chemicals that are introduced into waters from diverse sources (Ingersoll, 1995)
Infaunal amphipods are excellent for short term toxicity tests involving whole sediment and are strongly recommended as appropriate test species for acute toxicity tests in marine and estuarine waters (U.S EPA, 1994; ASTM, 1997)
We studied the sediments from Portmán Bay (Fig.1), using Mediterranean species of amphipods and sea urchins
Summary
Sediment provides a habitat for many marine organisms and is a major deposit of the more persistent chemicals that are introduced into waters from diverse sources (Ingersoll, 1995). Infaunal amphipods are excellent for short term toxicity tests involving whole sediment and are strongly recommended as appropriate test species for acute toxicity tests in marine and estuarine waters (U.S EPA, 1994; ASTM, 1997). Echinoderm embryo-larval development tests have been widely used to characterize a variety of toxicants, including sediment elutriate, solid phase and interstitial water (Bryn et al, 1998). Experiments involving sea urchin eggs and embryos are straightforward, rapid and extremely sensitive, providing results of great uniformity and accuracy. Such experiments have been accepted internationally as appropriate for toxicity tests
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