Influence of multiple water-quality characteristics on copper toxicity to fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

Water quality influences the bioavailability and toxicity of copper to aquatic organisms. Understanding the relationships between water‐quality parameters and copper toxicity may facilitate the development of site‐specific criteria for water quality and result in better protection of aquatic biota....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2004-12, Vol.23 (12), p.2900-2905
Main Authors: Sciera, Katherine L., Isely, J. Jeffery, Tomasso, Joseph R., Klaine, Stephen J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Carbon - analysis
Carbon - chemistry
Copper
Copper - toxicity
Cyprinidae
Dissolved organic matter
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Fathead minnow
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Larva - drug effects
Lethal Dose 50
Low water hardness
Organic matter source
Oxygen - analysis
Pimephales promelas
Rivers - chemistry
South Carolina
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
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Summary:Water quality influences the bioavailability and toxicity of copper to aquatic organisms. Understanding the relationships between water‐quality parameters and copper toxicity may facilitate the development of site‐specific criteria for water quality and result in better protection of aquatic biota. Many studies have examined the influence of a single water‐quality parameter on copper toxicity, but the interactions of several characteristics have not been well studied in low‐hardness water. The goal of the present research was to examine the interactions among water‐quality characteristics and their effects on copper toxicity to larval fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). The effects of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, DOC source, pH, and hardness on acute copper toxicity were determined using a complete factorially designed experiment. Hardness, pH, DOC, and interaction of pH and DOC all significantly affected copper toxicity. A predictive model based on these data described 88% of the variability in copper toxicity. This model also explained 58% of the variability in copper toxicity for an independent dataset of South Carolina (USA) waters. The biotic ligand model underpredicted the acute copper toxicity to fathead minnows when compared with observed values.
ISSN:0730-7268
1552-8618
DOI:10.1897/03-574.1