Contaminated sediments and bioassay responses of three macroinvertebrates, the midge larva Chironomus riparius, the water louse Asellus aquaticus and the mayfly nymph Ephoron virgo

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 61; no. 11; pp. 1700 - 1709
• Main Authors: De Lange, H.J., De Haas, E.M., Maas, H., Peeters, E.T.H.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: acid volatile sulfide; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Anisoptera (Odonata); Applied ecology; Asellus aquaticus; benthic invertebrates; bioassays; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Assay - methods; cadmium accumulation; Chironomidae; Chironomus; Chironomus riparius; community structure; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Ephoron virgo; estuaries; floodplain lake-sediments; Food; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; gammarus-pulex; Geologic Sediments; Growth; heavy metals; hyalella-azteca; in-situ; Insecta - drug effects; Insecta - growth & development; Larva - drug effects; Larva - growth & development; Nymph - drug effects; Nymph - growth & development; Phthiraptera; polychlorinated biphenyls; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; rhine-meuse delta; Sediment contamination; Soil Pollutants - toxicity; Species Specificity; Survival; Survival Rate; toxicity testing; toxicity tests; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Whole sediment bioassay; Netherlands; Rhine Basin; Europe; ANE, Netherlands, Zuid-Holland, Rijn-Maas Delta; Sediment contamination; Whole sediment bioassay; Growth; Survival; Food; Chironomidae; Bioassay; Chironomus riparius; Ephemeroptera; Insecta; Sediments; Contamination; Feeding; Crustacea; Asellus aquaticus; Larva; Isopoda; Arthropoda; Nymph; Developmental stage; Water pollution; Invertebrata; Diptera; Chemical contamination
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.03.083

Bioassays are widely used to estimate ecological risks of contaminated sediments. We compared the results of three whole sediment bioassays, using the midge larva Chironomus riparius, the water louse Asellus aquaticus, and the mayfly nymph Ephoron virgo. We used sediments from sixteen locations in the Dutch Rhine-Meuse Delta that differed in level of contamination. Previously developed protocols for each bioassay were followed, which differed in sediment pretreatment, replication, and food availability. The Chironomus bioassay was conducted in situ, whereas the other two were conducted in the laboratory. The measured endpoints, survival and growth, were related to contaminant levels in the sediment and to food quantity in water and sediment. Only the response of A. aquaticus in the bioassay was correlated with sediment contamination. Food availability in overlying water was much more important for C. riparius and E. virgo, thereby masking potential sediment contaminant effects. We conclude that growth of A. aquaticus was depressed by sediment contamination, whereas growth of E. virgo and C. riparius was stimulated by seston food quantity. We discuss that the trophic state of the ecosystem largely affects the ecological risks of contaminated sediments.