Results of an Algal Toxicity Test Applied to Sediment Elutriates

• Main Authors: Hannan,Patrick J, Patouillet,Constance E
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ALGAE; BAYS; Civil Engineering; COPPER; CULTURES(BIOLOGY); DELAY; DIAGNOSTIC AGENTS; DREDGED MATERIALS; Elutriate materials; ESTUARIES; FLUORESCENCE; OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS; PE61153N; Phaeodactylum tricornutum; PLANT GROWTH; PUERTO RICO; RATES; SEDIMENTS; SPOIL; SUBLETHAL DOSAGE; Suspended sediments; TEST METHODS; TOXIC HAZARDS; TOXICITY; Toxicology; VARIATIONS; WUG0401

Sediments from diverse marine and estuarine sites were subjected to a toxicity test based on the growth rate of the alga, Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Cultures were grown in solutions containing 1 part Guillard and Ryther medium and 11 parts sediment elutriate; growth was monitored by fluorescence measurements over a 2-day period. Comparisons with controls were made on the basis of a growth rate during the 20-44 hr interval, and on the final fluorescence of the cultures. In many instances there was a prolongation of the lag phase of growth but there were few cases in which the elutriates were highly toxic. A factor in the response of the algae was the concentration of the inoculum; with a heavy inoculum (over 30 ppm packed cell volume) a group of sediment elutriates promoted growth, but in the presence of very dilute inocula these same elutriates provided less growth than the controls. There was good reproducibility in the results of this study, which extended over a period of three years.