Effects of Sediment Bioturbation by the Estuarine Amphipod Corophium Volutator on Fluoranthene Resuspension and Transfer Into the Mussel (Mytilus Edulis)

Abstract

Abstract-To better understand the effects of bioturbation on partitioning and availability of sediment-bound contaminants to infaunal amphipods and mussels, experiments were carried out with fluoranthene-spiked sediment. Treatments included different densities of the estuarine amphipod, Corophium volutator. Total suspended solids (TSS), particulate organic carbon/particulate organic matter (POC/POM) in overlying water, fluoranthene concentrations in sediment, pore water, overlying water, amphipods, and mussels were measured. Bioturbation significantly increased TSS and POC/POM concentrations in overlying water, and this effect became greater at higher animal density and longer exposure time. Mean total aqueous fluoranthene concentrations increased from 2.40 to 4.1 and 5.45 g/L in the control, low-density, and high-density treatments, respectively, after 10 d of exposure. The particle-bound fraction of fluoranthene in the overlying water from the high-density treatment was two times higher than that from the low-density treatment. Bioturbation did not affect the partitioning of fluoranthene over suspended solids and water, nor did it affect the concentrations in sediment and pore water. This was illustrated by the constancy of sediment-interstitial water partitioning coefficients (log K oc(iw) ), sediment-overlying water partitioning coefficients (log K oc(ow) ), and normalized POC-water partitioning coefficients (log K poc ). Uptake of fluoranthene by filter-feeding mussels (Mytilus edulis) increased linearly with the density of bioturbating amphipods and with exposure time. The difference in concentrations of fluoranthene in mussels between the lowest and highest density of amphipods was more than a factor of two. Our results showed that bioturbation significantly increases TSS concentration in the overlying water and consequently the total aqueous concentration of sediment-bound contaminants, which are subsequently accumulated by filter-feeders. The increased accumulation in mussels, at a more or less constant concentration in the water, demonstrates the importance of bioturbation as a flux phenomenon and its role in the transport of resuspended sedimentbound contaminants to organisms in the aquatic food chain.

Assessing contaminated sediments in the context of multiple stressors

“…For example, mayfly (Hexagenia rigida) and Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) had less uptake of Cd and Zn in bioturbated systems than in unbioturbated systems [163]. However, bioturbation by amphipods significantly increased Johnston TSS concentration in the overlying water and, consequently, the total aqueous concentration of sediment-bound fluoranthene, which was subsequently accumulated by filter-feeding mussels [164]. The importance of resuspension events on contaminant release will be a function of several factors.…”

How Early Diagenesis Reveals in Situ Biodegradation of Herbicides in Sediment

“…it increases exchange surface with water column and modifies sediment physical properties as porosity, permeability, compaction and stability (Rhoads, 1974;McCall and Fisher, 1980;Meadow and Tait, 1989;Sandness et al, 2000;DeDekere et al, 2001;Ciutat et al, 2006;Rasmussen et al, 1998). As they often actively irrigate their galleries by flushing, they enhance the exchange of solutes and particles between the sedimentary compartment and the free overlying water (Ciarelli et al, 1999, Meysman et al, 2006.…”

Influence of bioturbation on bioavailability and toxicity of PAHs in sediment from an electronic waste recycling site in South China

“…dredging and trawling). Bioturbation refers to the disturbance caused by the activities of sediment-dwelling macroinvertebrates, and includes activities such as burrowing, feeding, defecating, and tube-building (Ciarelli et al, 1999). An example of the importance of bioturbation activities is evident in a study by Hedman et al (2009), where researchers found greater amounts of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) were emitted to water by bioturbation of the amphipod Monoporeia affinis than that by physical resuspension.…”

“…If more HOCs are released into the water phase, bioturbation may substantially enhance HOC bioavailability (Thibodeaux and Bierman, 2003). Although previous studies (Ciarelli et al, 1999;Friedman et al, 2009;Schuler et al, 2002) have shown that bioturbation significantly changed HOC distribution between sediment and water, limited studies have been conducted to evaluate the effects of bioturbation by freshwater oligochaetes on bioavailability and toxicity of sediment-associated HOCs to other benthic and epi-benthic organisms.…”