Integrated ecotoxicological assessment of bottom sediments from the Paraná basin, Argentina

• Published in: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety Vol. 98; pp. 179 - 186
• Main Authors: Peluso, Leticia, Abelando, Mariana, Apartín, Carina D., Almada, Pablo, Ronco, Alicia E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01.12.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amphipoda - drug effects; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Argentina; Benthic community; Biological and medical sciences; Bottom sediments; Crustacea; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Environmental Monitoring; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Hyalella curvispina; Invertebrates; Multivariate Analysis; Rivers; Sediment matrix composition; Toxicity assessment; Toxicity Tests; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; South America; Argentina; America; Bottom sediments; Benthic community; Hyalella curvispina; Sediment matrix composition; Toxicity assessment; Benthic organism; Statistical analysis; Ecotoxicology; Toxicity; Sediments; Amphipoda; Crustacea; Pollution; Biocenosis; Arthropoda; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0147-6513; 1090-2414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.09.001

Paraná River, the six largest in the world, is receptor of pollution loads from tributaries traversing urban and industrialized areas, and extensive agriculture, particularly in its middle and low stretch along the Argentinean sector, where most of the productive activities of the country develop. Within the frame of monitoring surveys, the quality of bottom sediments from distal positions of twenty tributaries and three of the main course was evaluated. The assessment covered testing lethal and sublethal effects with the Hyalella curvispina based toxicity test, a benthic macrofauna survey and physicochemical variables of sediment matrix composition. A multivariate statistical analysis approach permitted integrating the obtained data from the different survey lines of evidence, explaining potential causes of the measured biological effects. The main perturbations detected were associated to tributaries in the middle sector of the basin, where anoxic conditions with high sulfide contents prevail mostly related to organic matter inputs of diverse combined activities, where sediments induce high lethality, and a consequent strong reduction of the benthic community population and diversity. The integrated survey approach proved being a robust tool in the assessment of causative—adverse effects relationships. •We studied sediment quality of a major watercourse.•We found that a combined strategy of assessment was a suitable tool for detecting critical areas.•We found causes of detected adverse effects.•Urban and industrial sources of pollution showed severe impacts on sediment quality.