Invertebrate bioassays with North Sea water samples. I. Structural effects on embryos and larvae of serpulids, oysters and sea urchins

Abstract

Structural effects of bottom and surface water samples from two dumping grounds in the inner German Bight on the development of three meroplanktonic organisms(Pomatoceros triqueter: Polychaeta,Psammechinus miliaris: Echinodermata andCrassostrea gigas, Mollusca) were investigated. The titaniumdioxide dumping site was sampled immediately after dumping (within the visible waste trail 1 km behind the vessel), and 10 h after dumping. Samples were taken in the sewage sludge deposition area in the intervals between the usual dumping activities, regardless of the exact dumping schedule. The preserved bioassay test organisms were inspected microscopically to count percentages of “normal” larval hatch in test water samples, reference water samples and laboratory aged control water samples (5 to 10 replicates). The relative water quality at various dumping sites was expressed in terms of “net risk”-values (Woelke, 1972) compared to hatching rates observed in the controls. Larval development ofP. triqueter was significantly suppressed (up to −22 % “net risk”) in trail water of the titanium dioxide dump site while the development of sea urchin larvae was still affected in the 10 h surface samples. Hatching of all test organisms in bottom-water samples from the centre of the sewage sludge dump site was affected to different degrees when compared to reference areas about 4 km north or 6 km northwest of the dumping area. The general usefulness of standardized bioassay procedures in pollution monitoring programmes is discussed. The results presented here call for further verification to minimize experimental background variability and to enlarge the catalogue of suitable effects criteria.