Sensitivity of a Large and Representative Sample of Antarctic Marine Invertebrates to Metals

Abstract

There are limited data on the sensitivity to contaminants of marine organisms in polar regions. Consequently, assessments of the risk of contaminants to marine biota in polar environments typically include extrapolations from temperate and/or tropical species. This is problematic because the taxonomic composition of organisms differs between polar and temperate/tropical waters, and both the toxicity of chemicals and the physiology of organisms are very different at the stable low temperatures experienced in polar marine systems. Collecting high‐quality sensitivity data for a wide range of marine polar organisms using traditional toxicity assessment approaches is a time‐consuming and difficult process, especially in remote and hostile environments. We applied a rapid toxicity testing approach, which allowed a much larger number of species to be tested than would be possible with traditional toxicity test methods, albeit with lower replications and fewer exposure concentrations. With this rapid approach, sensitivity estimates are less precise, but more numerous. This is important when constructing species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), which aim to represent the sensitivity of communities. We determined the approximate sensitivity (4‐ and 10‐d median lethal concentration [LC50] values) of a large and representative sample of Antarctic marine invertebrates to copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd). Up to 88 LC50 values (from 88 different taxa) were used in the construction of SSDs. The hazardous concentrations for 1% of taxa (HC1) based on 10‐d LC50 values were 37, 346, and 792 μg/L for Cu, Zn, and Cd, respectively. Our results provide a basis for estimating the risk of exposure to metals for a large representative sample of marine polar invertebrates. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1560–1568. © 2019 SETAC

Role of Toxicokinetic and Toxicodynamic Parameters in Explaining the Sensitivity of Zebrafish Larvae to Four Metals

“…Toxicity data are commonly obtained from laboratory toxicity tests used to estimate median lethal concentrations (e.g., LC 50 ) of a test population, which are often used in ecological risk assessments . Previous studies have shown that the sensitivity of different species exposed to the same metal varies greatly and has been correlated to body size, evolutionary patterns, and physicochemical and physiological characteristics. − Similarly, the variation in toxicity of a single species when exposed to different metals can be orders of magnitude greater. − For example, the 96-h-LC 50 values for Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb were 0.006, 0.10, 0.46, and 0.63 mg/L for cyprinidae (Rasbora sumatrana) and 0.038, 0.17, 1.06, and 1.99 mg/L for guppy (Poecilia reticulata), respectively . In addition, evidence suggests that of the four metals, Cu is the most toxic to zebrafish, freshwater mussels, and invertebrates (e.g., Daphnia magna). ,− The ability of metal to compete with biological binding targets and metal speciation in the exposure medium play an important role in metal toxicity. , The affinity of different metals to biotic ligands correlates to their toxicity to aquatic organisms .…”

Responses of Southern Ocean Seafloor Habitats and Communities to Global and Local Drivers of Change

“…At a species level there is relatively limited knowledge on the sensitivity and bioaccumulation of pollutants on benthic species (Lister et al, 2015;Alexander et al, 2017;Brown et al, 2017). Heavy-metal studies have shown demonstrated variability within phyla and further research is required before water quality guidelines for the Southern Ocean can be established (Kefford et al, 2019;Webb et al, 2019).…”

How Specific Is Site‐Specific? A Review and Guidance for Selecting and Evaluating Approaches for Deriving Local Water Quality Benchmarks

“…Consequently, careful thought should be given to the appropriateness of this approach for the contaminant issue in question. A recent example of an appropriate use of the rapid testing approach is provided by Kefford et al () for Antarctic marine invertebrates that are extremely difficult to culture and undertake chronic toxicity testing with in the laboratory.…”