Investigating copper toxicity in the tropical fish cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) in natural Amazonian waters: Measurements, modeling, and reality

Abstract

Copper at high concentrations is an ionoregulatory toxicant in fish and its toxicity is known to be strongly modulated by the water chemistry. The toxicity of Cu to the tropical fish cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) was investigated in waters from two major rivers of the Amazon watershed: the Rio Negro (filtered <0.45μm, pH 5.6, DOC=8.4 mgL−1, Na=33μM, Ca=8μM) and the Rio Solimões (filtered <0.45μm, pH 6.7, DOC=2.8 mgL−1, Na=185μM, Ca=340μM), as well as in a natural “reference water” (groundwater) which was almost DOC-free (pH 6.0, DOC=0.34 mgL−1, Na=53μM, Ca=5μM). Acute 96-h mortality, Cu bioaccumulation and net flux rates of Na+, Cl−, K+ and total ammonia were determined in P. axelrodi exposed in each water. Copper speciation in each water was determined by two thermodynamic models and by potentiometry, and its toxicity was predicted based on the biotic ligand model (BLM) framework. Our results indicate that high Na+ loss is the main mode of toxic action of Cu in P. axelrodi, in accordance with general theory. Cardinal tetra showed a particularly high ability to tolerate Cu and to maintain Na+ balance, similar to the ability of this and other endemic Rio Negro species to tolerate low pH and ion-poor conditions. Cu toxicity was lower in Rio Negro than in the other two waters tested, and the free [Cu2+] at the LC50, as determined by any of the three speciation methods tested, was approximately 10-fold higher. This variation could not be captured by a realistic set of BLM parameters. At least in part, this observation may be due to gill physiological alterations induced by the abundant dissolved organic matter of the Rio Negro. The implication of this observation is that, for metals risk assessment in tropical waters, similar to the Rio Negro, care must be used in applying BLM models developed using temperate DOC and temperate species.