Comparative toxicity of metals to freshwater life in tropical Australia

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

OSTI ID:201209

Markich, S J ^[1]; Camilleri, C ^[2]; Baird, D J ^[3]

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1. ANSTO, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia). Environmental Science Program
2. ERISS, Jabiru (Australia)
3. Univ. of Stirling (United Kingdom)

At present, there is a paucity of internally consistent datasets on the toxicity of metals (and other contaminants) in the tropics, relative to the cool and warm temperate regions of the world. Such information is considered mandatory before a proper comparison of the toxicity of metals to aquatic life between tropical and temperate regions is possible. As part of a larger study to investigate whether the toxicity of metals to aquatic life differs between the tropical and temperate regions of Australia, several species of tropical freshwater organisms, comprising a molluscs, fish, hydra, Daphnia and an alga were employed to obtain an internally consistent data set on the comparative toxicity of selected metals, such as U and Cu, that are of potential concern in the wet-dry tropics of Australia as a result of man`s activities. Both acute and chronic ecologically relevant sublethal endpoints, such as growth and reproduction (EC{sub 50}, BEC{sub 10}) were measured for the five species, which cover a variety of trophic levels. A synthetic water quality that closely resembled the inorganic composition of the natural waters in which the organisms inhabit, was used in all experiments. This facilitated the use of the geochemical modelling code, HARPHRQ, to predict the speciation, and hence, bioavailability of the selected metals. A knowledge of the bioavailable fraction of a metal is necessary for setting up national water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. The results from this study are discussed and related to the derivation of both site-specific and national water quality-guidelines for metals.

• OSTI ID: 201209
• Report Number(s): CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: 96:009524
• 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

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
TROPICAL REGIONS
WATER POLLUTION
AUSTRALIA
COPPER
TOXICITY
URANIUM
MOLLUSCS
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
FISHES
HYDRA
DAPHNIA
ALGAE
WATER QUALITY
STANDARDS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FRESH WATER
ANIMAL GROWTH
H CODES
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
FORECASTING