The influence of sediment particle size and organic carbon on toxicity of copper to benthic invertebrates in oxic/suboxic surface sediments

The use of sediment quality guidelines to predict the toxicity of metals in sediments is limited by an inadequate understanding of exposure pathways and by poor causal links between exposure and effects. For a 10-d exposure to Cu-spiked sediments, toxicity to the amphipod Melita plumulosa was demonstrated to occur through a combination of dissolved and dietary Cu exposure pathways, but for the bivalves Spisula trigonella and Tellina deltoidalis, toxicity occurred primarily by exposure to dissolved Cu. For relatively oxidized sediments that had moderate amounts of organic carbon (2.6-8.3% OC), silt (20-100%