RIS ID

103895

Publication Details

Amato, E. D., Simpson, S. L., Belzunce-Segarra, M. J., Jarolimek, C. V. & Jolley, D. F. (2015). Metal fluxes from porewaters and labile sediment phases for predicting metal exposure and bioaccumulation in benthic invertebrates. Environmental Science and Technology (Washington), 49 (24), 14204-14212.

Abstract

The use of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) for predicting metal bioavailability was investigated by exposing the bivalve Tellina deltoidalis to an identical series of metal-contaminated sediments deployed simultaneously in the field and laboratory. To understand the differences in metal exposure occurring between laboratory and field-based bioassays, changes in metal fluxes to DGT probes in sediments, and metal concentrations and partitioning to porewaters and overlying waters were investigated. DGT-metal fluxes (Cu, Pb and Zn) were lower in the overlying waters of most field-bioassays compared to the laboratory, causing differences in Pb and Zn bioaccumulation between bivalves exposed to laboratory and field conditions. Overall, DGT-metal fluxes provided predictions of metal bioaccumulation similar to those obtained using dilute-acid extractable metal measurements. This study demonstrates that, irrespective of the physicochemical properties of the sediment and type of exposure (laboratory or field), sediments pose a significant risk of bioaccumulation by T. deltoidalis when the Cu, Pb and Zn DGT flux exceeds 3.5, 1.3 and 156 µg/h/m2, respectively. The results presented here support the use of the DGT technique for sediment quality assessment and the hypothesis that DGT-metal fluxes may potentially be useful surrogates for the lability of metals for all exposure routes.

Share

COinS
 

Link to publisher version (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03655