The avoidance of copper by salmonids as affected by metals concentration, organic content, and acclimation

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:225191

Hansen, J; Bergman, H L; Meyer, J S; MacRae, R ^[1]; Marr, J; Lipton, J; Cacela, D ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
2. Hagler Bailly, Inc., Boulder, CO (United States)

The authors evaluated the behavioral avoidance of copper by rainbow trout and chinook salmon in water simulating natural conditions (pH = 6.5--8.5; alkalinity/hardness = 25 mg/l-) using an opposing-flow avoidance chamber. Avoidance was determined at three pH levels and at three dissolved organic acid concentrations. The lowest copper concentration avoided by both species was approximately 3 {micro}g/L. However, in experiments using fish that were not acclimated to copper, chinook salmon did not avoid copper concentrations above 44 {micro}g/1 and rainbow trout did not avoid copper concentrations above 180 {micro}g/L. Following acclimation to low copper concentrations (< 4{micro}g/L), most chinook salmon did not avoid any copper concentrations that were higher than the acclimation concentration, whereas most rainbow trout avoided all copper concentrations higher than the acclimation concentration. The avoidance of copper by chinook salmon was mostly unaffected by the addition of an organic acid mixture that mimicked the copper binding affinity and capacity of their study site water. However, the avoidance of copper by rainbow trout may be reduced by the highest affinity organic acid ligand in the organic acid mixture. Both the loss of avoidance to high acute concentrations and low chronic concentrations may be related to structural damage in the olfactory rosette. Differences in species sensitivity to copper may be explained by different copper binding characteristics on sensory epithelial tissues. Therefore, copper in natural waters may be more bioavailable to sensory tissues in chinook salmon compared to rainbow trout, which may explain the greater sensitivity of chinook salmon to high acute and low chronic copper exposures.

• OSTI ID: 225191
• Report Number(s): CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
AFFINITY
BEHAVIOR
BIOCHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
COPPER
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
GENETIC VARIABILITY
ORGANIC ACIDS
PH VALUE
SALMON
SENSITIVITY
TROUT
WATER POLLUTION