Copper bioavailability and toxicity to Mytilus galloprovincialis in Shelter Island Yacht Basin, San Diego, CA

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2014-08, Vol.85 (1), p.225-234
• Main Authors: Bosse, Casey, Rosen, Gunther, Colvin, Marienne, Earley, Patrick, Santore, Robert, Rivera-Duarte, Ignacio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Availability; Biotic Ligand Model; Bivalvia; California; Copper - chemistry; Copper - toxicity; Copper bioavailability; Copper complexation; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Islands; Ligands; Marine; Marine and brackish environment; Mytilus - drug effects; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Mytilus sp; Sea water ecosystems; Seawater - chemistry; Synecology; Toxicity Tests; Water effect ratio; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.05.045

•Three lines of evidence indicate copper not at toxic levels in Shelter Island.•Complexation capacity predictive of observed copper toxicity.•Water effect ratio demonstrated natural complexation capacity of copper.•Biotic Ligand Model for copper useful in marina with high copper loading. The bioavailability and toxicity of copper (Cu) in Shelter Island Yacht Basin (SIYB), San Diego, CA, USA, was assessed with simultaneous toxicological, chemical, and modeling approaches. Toxicological measurements included laboratory toxicity testing with Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mediterranean mussel) embryos added to both site water (ambient) and site water spiked with multiple Cu concentrations. Chemical assessment of ambient samples included total and dissolved Cu concentrations, and Cu complexation capacity measurements. Modeling was based on chemical speciation and predictions of bioavailability and toxicity using a marine Biotic Ligand Model (BLM). Cumulatively, these methods assessed the natural buffering capacity of Cu in SIYB during singular wet and dry season sampling events. Overall, the three approaches suggested negligible bioavailability, and isolated observed or predicted toxicity, despite an observed gradient of increasing Cu concentration, both horizontally and vertically within the water body, exceeding current water quality criteria for saltwater.