Do Acid Volatile Sulfides (AVS) Influence the Accumulation of Sediment-Bound Metals to Benthic Invertebrates under Natural Field Conditions?

Abstract

The present study evaluates the influence of acid volatile sulfides (AVS) on accumulation of sediment-bound metals in benthic invertebrates under natural field conditions. Natural sediments, pore water, surface water, and two species of widespread benthic invertebrates (Chironomus gr. thummi and Tubifex tubifex) were collected from 17 historical polluted Flemish lowland rivers and measured for metal concentrations. Different sediment characteristics were determined (AVS, organic matter, clay content) and multiple regression was used to study their relationship with accumulated metals in the invertebrates. Physical and chemical analysis of the field samples indicated low metal concentrations in the water and pore water, but very high metal concentrations in the sediment and the invertebrates, especially for Pb (5.99 micromol/ g). In general, metal accumulation in chironomids and tubificid worms was most strongly correlated with total metal concentrations in the sediment and sediment metal concentrations normalized for organic matter and clay content. Following the results of the linear regression model, AVS did not turn out to be a significant variable in describing variation in metal accumulation. Our study clearly demonstrates that, in addition to the results gained from experiments under lab conditions, benthic invertebrates can accumulate metals from unspiked field sediments even when there's an excess of AVS.

Acid-volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metals in surface sediments of the southwestern coastal Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea: Concentrations, spatial distributions and the indication of heavy metal pollution status

“…Therefore applying this theory to metal remobilization studies would be proper only in the case that sulfides are not oxidized during elutriation (Di Toro et al, 1990;Durán et al, 2012). During the past years, much evidence has shown that benthic invertebrates can accumulate metals, even when [SEM]-[AVS] < 0, since benthic invertebrates ingest sediment particles as their main food source disregarding AVS (Lee et al, 2000a;Lee et al, 2000b;De Jonge et al, 2009;De Jonge et al, 2010). YHH3 YHH2 YHH1 GLH3 GLH2 GLH1 YHH-GLH ZMH2 ZMH1 ZM-YHH L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 MH6 MH5 XQH4 XQH3 XQH2 XQH1 K1 K2 K3 MH4 MH3 MH2 MH1 J1 J2 J3 J4 BLH3 BLH2 BLH1 I1 I2 I3 DH2 DH1 YH5 YH4 YH3 YH2 YH1 H1 H2 H3 WH3 WH2 WH1 JLH2 SEMs can be combined with AVS to reduce their toxicity; however, AVS of excessively high content is also harmful to aquatic organism.…”

Assessment of sediment quality based on acid-volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metals in heavily industrialized area of Asaluyeh, Persian Gulf: concentrations, spatial distributions, and sediment bioavailability/toxicity

“…Some researchers have displayed that benthic organism can accumulate metals in their body, even when SEM-AVS < 0, since benthic organism eats sediment particles as their major food source disregarding AVS concentration level (De Jonge et al 2009Lee et al 2000a, b). AVS values may vary when environmental conditions (such as pH, Eh, oxygen content, etc.)…”

Distribution characteristics and toxicity assessment of heavy metals in the sediments of Lake Chaohu, China

“…The AVS-SEM and TEL-PEL methods were all based on laboratory experiment while not field results (Hinkey and Zaidi 2007;Hübner et al 2009;De Jonge et al 2009). A lot of researches have found that even the molar of SEM far larger than that of the AVS in sediments, whereas it still did not cause toxicity to benthic biota (Allen et al 1993;Ankely et al 1996).…”