Assessment of sediment contamination by spermiotoxicity and embryotoxicity bioassays with sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2001-07, Vol.20 (7), p.1605-1611
• Main Authors: Geffard, Olivier, Budzinski, Helene, Augagneur, Sylvie, Seaman, Matthias N. L., His, Edouard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Assay; Crassostrea gigas; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Embryo, Nonmammalian - drug effects; Embryotoxicity/spermiotoxicity bioassay; Endpoint Determination; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Pollutants - adverse effects; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Male; Metals, Heavy - adverse effects; Ostreidae - growth & development; Ostreidae - physiology; Paracentrotus lividus; Polluted marine sediments; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - adverse effects; Reproducibility of Results; Sea Urchins - growth & development; Sea Urchins - physiology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spermatozoa - drug effects; Spermatozoa - physiology; Toxicity Tests
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.5620200727

Gametes (sperm) and fertilized eggs (embryos) of the Mediterranean sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, and the Japanese oyster, Crassostrea gigas, were used to investigate the toxicity of two marine sediments, one polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the other by heavy metals. The sediment samples were freeze‐dried for storage, and three different treatments were used for analysis: whole sediment, unfiltered elutriate, and filtered elutriate. The two sediments were toxic to sea urchin spermatozoa but not to oyster spermatozoa, and embryotoxicity was almost always the more sensitive endpoint for toxicity assessment. As a rule, whole sediment was more toxic than the elutriates by nearly two orders of magnitude. With respect to embryotoxicity, the whole sediments and the elutriates of the PAH‐contaminated sediment were more toxic to oyster embryos, whereas the elutriates of the sediment polluted by heavy metals had stronger effects on sea urchin embryos. The results confirm that bioassays with Japanese oyster embryos provide a more sensitive appraisal of toxicity in the marine environment than bioassays with other developmental stages. As a whole, Mediterranean sea urchins and Japanese oysters were similar in overall sensitivity and are therefore both equally suited as bioassay organisms, but tests with oysters are more reproducible because of the better performance of the controls.