Acute sensitivity of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to copper, cadmium, or zinc in water‐only laboratory exposures

Abstract

The acute toxicity of cadmium, copper, and zinc to white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were determined for 7 developmental life stages in flow-through water-only exposures. Metal toxicity varied by species and by life stage. Rainbow trout were more sensitive to cadmium than white sturgeon across all life stages, with median effect concentrations (hardness-normalized EC50s) ranging from 1.47 µg Cd/L to 2.62 µg Cd/L with sensitivity remaining consistent during later stages of development. Rainbow trout at 46 d posthatch (dph) ranked at the 2nd percentile of a compiled database for Cd species sensitivity distribution with an EC50 of 1.46 µg Cd/L and 72 dph sturgeon ranked at the 19th percentile (EC50 of 3.02 µg Cd/L). White sturgeon were more sensitive to copper than rainbow trout in 5 of the 7 life stages tested with biotic ligand model (BLM)-normalized EC50s ranging from 1.51 µg Cu/L to 21.9 µg Cu/L. In turn, rainbow trout at 74 dph and 95 dph were more sensitive to copper than white sturgeon at 72 dph and 89 dph, indicating sturgeon become more tolerant in older life stages, whereas older trout become more sensitive to copper exposure. White sturgeon at 2 dph, 16 dph, and 30 dph ranked in the lower percentiles of a compiled database for copper species sensitivity distribution, ranking at the 3rd (2 dph), 5th (16 dph), and 10th (30 dph) percentiles. White sturgeon were more sensitive to zinc than rainbow trout for 1 out of 7 life stages tested (2 dph with an biotic ligand model–normalized EC50 of 209 µg Zn/L) and ranked in the 1st percentile of a compiled database for zinc species sensitivity distribution. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2259–2272. © 2014. The Authors. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published byWiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Behavioral effects of copper on larval white sturgeon

“…This sensitivity to Cu was reaffirmed in the present study with effect concentrations for mortality and loss of equilibrium and immobilization similar to previously reported values (Calfee et al ), with the exception of the 4‐d EC50 for loss of equilibrium and immobilization. In the present study, EC50s for this endpoint ranged from 8.71 to 8.88 μg Cu/L for 1‐ to 35‐dph white sturgeon larvae, whereas Calfee et al () reported values of 2.67 to 6.31 μg Cu/L. In a recent study with Chinese sturgeon ( Acipenser sinensis ), similar swimming aberrations indicative of a loss of equilibrium, such as fish swimming in corkscrews and losing their balance, were observed after 4 to 6 h of exposure to high concentrations of Cu (up to 110 μg/L; Feng et al ).…”

“…White sturgeon larvae were among the most sensitive to Cu exposure among aquatic organisms based on species sensitivity distributions of previously reported values for other organisms (Vardy et al ; Little et al ; Calfee et al ; Wang et al ). This sensitivity to Cu was reaffirmed in the present study with effect concentrations for mortality and loss of equilibrium and immobilization similar to previously reported values (Calfee et al ), with the exception of the 4‐d EC50 for loss of equilibrium and immobilization. In the present study, EC50s for this endpoint ranged from 8.71 to 8.88 μg Cu/L for 1‐ to 35‐dph white sturgeon larvae, whereas Calfee et al () reported values of 2.67 to 6.31 μg Cu/L.…”

Copper Concentrations in the Upper Columbia River as a Limiting Factor in White Sturgeon Recruitment and Recovery

“…White sturgeon free embryos hide in the interstitial spaces of the substrate at the bottom of the river and are observed hiding under provided refugia in laboratory studies (Figure 3C). During this life stage, sturgeon are approximately 1 to 7 dph, and concentrations that are lethal to 50% of the experimental population in 96 h (96‐h LC50s) range for Cu from 5 to >16 μg/L (Calfee et al 2014; Wang et al 2014) (Table 1; Note: this and numbers listed from here are BLM adjusted to USEPA [2002] moderately hard standard water for ease in comparison among studies). However, an effect concentration that includes mortality, loss of equilibrium, and immobility in its calculation, for the same life stage, is the most sensitive acute endpoint and a more realistic interpretation of Cu effects.…”

Quantifying Fish Swimming Behavior in Response to Acute Exposure of Aqueous Copper Using Computer Assisted Video and Digital Image Analysis

“…In previous studies, adverse behavioral responses were evident with early onset during the first few days of acute and chronic exposures to copper and became progressively more severe over exposure duration and concentration 7,8,9 . The magnitude and timing of the onset of these behavioral responses are likely sufficient to limit long-term survival and thus are of concern given the implications for recruitment failure 10 .…”