Results of an in-situ mussel bioassay in the Puget Sound
- URS Consultants, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
As part of an ecological evaluation in the Puget Sound, Washington, an in situ bioassay using the blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) was conducted to determine the effect of sediment-borne chemicals on bioaccumulation and growth of shellfish. The assay included four sample stations from a contaminated embayment (Sinclair Inlet) and one station from a reference site (Holmes Harbor). At each station, 300 mussels were deployed 1 meter above the sediment surface and maintained for a period of 3 months. The length and total weight of each mussel was measured at the beginning of the exposure period and the length, total weight, tissue weight, and shell weight of each mussel was measured at the end of the exposure period. Composite tissue samples from 100 mussels were collected at the beginning and end of the exposure period and analyzed for semivolatile organic chemicals, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, inorganic chemicals, organotin, and lipids. Water quality measurements (including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a) were made at each station every two weeks during the assay to characterize environmental factors influencing mussel bioaccumulation and growth. Weight growth was similar among stations in Sinclair Inlet, but was significantly greater in all Sinclair Inlet stations compared to the Holmes Harbor reference station. Length growth was statistically indistinguishable among stations in Sinclair Inlet. Only one Sinclair Inlet station had a significantly greater length growth compared to the Holmes Harbor reference station. The influence of water quality on mussel growth is presented. The correlation between sediment chemistry and bioaccumulation is discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 367445
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9640%%191
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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