Pore water testing and analysis: the good, the bad, and the ugly

The increasingly common practice of collecting and assessing sediment pore water as a primary measure of sediment quality is reviewed. Good features of this practice include: pore water is a key exposure route for some organisms associated with sediments; pore water testing eliminates particle size...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2002-05, Vol.44 (5), p.359-366
Main Authors: Chapman, Peter M, Wang, Feiyue, Germano, Joseph D, Batley, Graeme
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis methods
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Applied sciences
Bioaccumulation
Biological and medical sciences
Chemistry
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Invertebrates
Marine and brackish environment
Pollution
Pollution, environment geology
Pore water
Reproducibility of Results
Risk Assessment
Sediment
Sensitivity and Specificity
Soil and sediments pollution
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Toxicity
Toxicity Tests
Water Pollutants - analysis
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Summary:The increasingly common practice of collecting and assessing sediment pore water as a primary measure of sediment quality is reviewed. Good features of this practice include: pore water is a key exposure route for some organisms associated with sediments; pore water testing eliminates particle size effects; pore water analyses and tests can provide useful information regarding contamination and pollution. Bad features include: pore water is not the only exposure route; pore water tests lack chemical or biological realism; their “sensitivity” relative to other tests may be meaningless due to manipulation and laboratory artifacts; many sediment and surface dwelling organisms are not directly influenced by pore water. Bad features can become ugly if: other exposure pathways are not considered (for toxicity or bioaccumulation); manipulation techniques are not appropriate; pore water tests are inappropriately linked to population-level effects. Pore water testing and analyses can be effective tools provided their limitations are well understood by researchers and managers.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/S0025-326X(01)00243-0