Acute and chronic toxicity of nickel to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract

Of the fish species tested in chronic Ni exposures, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is the most sensitive. To develop additional Ni toxicity data and to investigate the toxic mode of action for Ni, we conducted acute (96-h) and chronic (85-d early life-stage) flow-through studies using rainbow trout. In addition to standard toxicological endpoints, we investigated the effects of Ni on ionoregulatory physiology (Na, Ca, and Mg). The acute median lethal concentration for Ni was 20.8 mg/L, and the 24-h gill median lethal accumulation was 666 nmol/g wet weight. No effects on plasma Ca, Mg, or Na were observed during acute exposure. In the chronic study, no significant effects on embryo survival, swim-up, hatching, or fingerling survival or growth were observed at dissolved Ni concentrations up to 466 microg/L, the highest concentration tested. This concentration is considerably higher than the only other reported chronic no-observed-effect concentration (<33 microg/L) for rainbow trout. Accumulation of Ni in trout eggs indicates the chorion is only a partial barrier with 36%, 63%, and 1% of total accumulated Ni associated with the chorion, yolk, and embryo, respectively. Whole-egg ion concentrations were reduced by Ni exposure. However, most of this reduction occurred in the chorion rather than in the embryos, and no effects on hatching success or larval survival were observed as a result. Plasma ion concentrations measured in swim-up fingerlings at the end of the chronic-exposure period were not significantly reduced by exposure to Ni. Nickel accumulated on the gill in an exponential manner but plateaued in trout plasma at waterborne Ni concentrations of 118 microg/L or greater. Consistent with previous studies, Ni did not appear to disrupt ionoregulation in acute exposures of rainbow trout. Our results also suggest that Ni is not an ionoregulatory toxicant in long-term exposures, but the lack of effects in the highest Ni treatment precludes a definitive conclusion.

Dissolved Heavy Metal (Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni) Concentrations in Surface Water and Porewater from Bahía Blanca Estuary Tidal Flats

“…Toxicological bioassays directed to asses the effect of Ni on Thalassiosira curviseriata from Bahía Blanca estuary have reported value of~65 lg L -1 as Ni chronic toxicity value (Andrade 2001), which was significantly higher than those recorded within the present study. Furthermore, the papers by Santojanni et al (2003) reporting Ni lethal toxicity of 100-150 lg L -1 for Dapnia magna; or, by Brix et al (2004) who reported the acute median lethal Ni concentration (20.8 mg L -1 ) and the 24-h gill median lethal accumulation (666 nmol g -1 , wet weight) for the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.…”

Predicting the Bioavailability of Metals and Metal Complexes: Critical Review of the Biotic Ligand Model

“…[8,[26][27][28] Fish gills are known to possess a complex mixture of metal-binding functional groups, each with characteristic metal-and proton-binding constants and capacities. [29][30][31] For instance, for 3 to 72 h exposures, two different types of copper-binding sites have been identified on the gills of rainbow trout. [32] In that case, at very low (environmentally relevant) metal concentrations, lowcapacity, high-affinity uptake sites were filled until saturation while at high concentrations, a mixture of low-affinity, highcapacity binding was observed that did not lead to bio-uptake.…”

“…[103] For copper, cadmium, and nickel, a strong relationship has been observed between metal accumulation on the gills of rainbow trout or fathead minnows and that predicted using acute toxicity data. [31,40,57,131] Furthermore, physiologically based log K values (log K Ag-gill ATPase = 7.6) have been shown to be useful for predicting the silver binding to specific toxic sites of the gills of rainbow trout. [132] Future research will most certainly need to move beyond total body burdens and total bioaccumulation.…”

Immunotoxic effects of nickel in the mud crab Scylla serrata

“…Nickel is often found in the coastal environment as a result of industrial discharges from electroplating, smelting, mining and refining operations, and other industrial emissions [2]. Relative to other divalent metals, nickel has not been well studied in terms of toxicity to different species and mode of action.…”