Ecotoxicological evaluation for the screening of areas polluted by mining activities

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of three bioassays representing multiple trophic levels, for the preliminary ecotoxicological screening of sediments from sites contaminated by mining activities. Of the bioassays used in this study, the ostracod test was the most responsive. Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition assay was less sensitive to the toxicants in the sediments than the phytotoxicity assays. The general trend observed was an increase in toxicity values measured by the bioassays with increasing metal mobilization in sediment samples. Therefore, the test battery can be used as a rapid and sensitive tool to evaluate the heavy metal contamination in sediments.

History and sensitivity comparison of two standard whole-sediment toxicity tests with crustaceans: the amphipodHyalella aztecaand the ostracodHeterocypris incongruensmicrobiotest

“…Since the commercial availability of the Ostracodtoxkit, a substantial number of studies were carried out with the standard ostracod toxicity test in different laboratories of several countries, on a variety of sediments. Findings of several of these studies have been published in the scientific literature (Latif and Licek, 2004;Dirven-van Breemen et al, 2006;Drobniewska et al, 2007;Mankiewicz-Boczek et al, 2008;Watanabe et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2009;García-Lorenzo et al, 2009;Coccia et al, 2009;Silva et al, 2011;Kudlak et al, 2011;Nalecz-Jawecki et al, 2011;Steliga, 2011;Sheahan and Fisher, 2012;Huerta Buitrago et al, 2013;Watanabe et al, 2013;Ruiz et al, 2013;Khanal et al, 2014;Sevilla et al, 2014;Palma et al, 2014). Titles, abstracts, and posters of other studies presented at international symposia on ecotoxicology can be found on the website www.microbiotests.be (Nalecz-Jawecki et al, 2009;Gonçalves et al, 2012).…”

Ecotoxicological effects of sediments from Mar Piccolo, South Italy: toxicity testing with organisms from different trophic levels

“…In the past, sediments quality has been monitored mainly by chemical data acquisition. However, the complexity of sediment-contaminant interactions makes this approach insufficient to provide exact information about their potential effect on biota (Cairns 1990;Chapman et al 1992;Davoren et al 2005;García-Lorenzo et al 2009;Prato et al 2012). For this reason, many studies (Giller et al 1998;Brohon et al 2001;Frische 2003;Calace et al 2005;Prato and Biandolino 2009;Prato et al 2012) have proposed a monitoring approach based on the integration of biological and chemical measurements.…”

Application of geochemical and ecotoxicity indices for assessment of heavy metals content in soils / Zastosowanie wskaźników geochemicznych i ekotokysycznych w ocenie zawartości metali ciężkich w glebach

“…Heavy metals accumulate in soil and then penetrate the trophic chain, which leads to destabilization of the proper development of all organisms (Luo et al 2012). Soil pollution with heavy metals is rarely visible within a short period of time, but is characterized by dangerous ecotoxicological effects which are delayed in time (Garcia-Lorenzo et al 2009). In particular, the absorptive and buffer properties of soils infl uence heavy metals accumulation.…”