Advances in marine ecotoxicology: laboratory tests versus field assessment data on sediment quality studies

Abstract

Ecotoxicology is concerned with describing and predicting the behaviour of substances in the environment and the response of biological systems, and ultimately with assessing the risks associated with emissions. These assessments are complicated from a basic-science point of view and they should be carried out by using integrative assessments. Contaminated sediments are a significant regulatory issue with important science implications. Determining the impact of contaminated sediments is a key element in environmental risk assessment and management of water resources. Tests for ecotoxicology assessment in sediments may be conducted either in the laboratory or field. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Data from different studies performed in laboratory conditions and in field assessments are compared here. The principal advantages of sediment toxicity tests in the laboratory are the possibility to standardize methodologies and to provide direct evidence of sediments as causative agents of toxicity; however, the results are difficult to extrapolate to the field. The results obtained here show the importance of the end point selected in each test and the variability of the responses. Therefore, the results highlight the necessity and importance of the battery-of-tests approach for toxicity assessment. On the other hand, field sediment toxicity has the advantage of empirical evidence and strong correlative indication of the contaminants responsible for toxicity; however, the results obtained from these tests are highly affected by casualty, so it is not possible to isolate a single causative factor. When structural macrofaunal parameters are incorporated into field tests, the results are even more difficult to interpret, because their parameters can be mainly related to organic enrichment or another kind of natural stress, such as salinity gradient, tidal stress conditions, etc.

Influence of sediment acidification on the bioaccumulation of metals in Ruditapes philippinarum

“…Estuarine sediment toxicity/bioaccumulation tests should be carried out on organisms that are tolerant to variable abiotic conditions, such as pH (Martín-Díaz et al 2008). The commonly used clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, is an infaunal estuarine organism able to adapt to a wide range of salinity and pH values (DelValls and Conradi 2000). Moreover, clams are filter-suspension-feeding bivalves that accumulate metals within their tissues (Shin et al 2002).…”

Precision and Accuracy of Field Versus Laboratory Bioassay Insecticide Efficacy for the Control of Immature Bemisia tabaci

“…A maximum dose Insects 2023, 14, 645 2 of 12 laboratory bioassay was recently proposed for whiteflies as a less costly, more efficient alternative to assessing insecticide efficacy in field populations than multiple spray tests [2]. Ecotoxicological studies have often indicated that predicting field response based on a laboratory bioassay can have many problems [3,4]. Therefore, we investigated whether a laboratory insecticide bioassay for whitefly control precisely and accurately estimates field whitefly response to the insecticide.…”

The role of biomarkers to assess oil‐contaminated sediment quality using toxicity tests with clams and crabs

“…The combination of biological responses and chemical data of the sediment helps identify the integrated impact of chemical contamination on organisms. Many authors agree that sediment quality is best determined by integrating the information obtained from measures of chemical concentration and from specific tests to determine sediment toxicity [10,11].…”