Effects of the Razor Clam Tagelus plebeius on the Fate of Petroleum Hydrocarbons: A Mesocosm Experiment.

The relationship between organisms and contaminants may be a two-way interaction: contaminants affecting the biota and the biota affecting the environmental fate and distribution of the contaminants. This may be especially so for sediment-dwelling organisms, because their burrowing and feeding can drastically influence sediment characteristics. The present study looked at the influence of the suspension-feeding stout razor clam Tagelus plebeius on the distribution of crude oil and pyrene in greenhouse mesocosm experiments. Water column turbidity and sediment redox also were monitored during the 15- to 30-day exposures to provide information on the influence of hydrocarbons and the razor clams on environmental conditions. For the experiment with crude oil, sediment was taken from the mesocosms at the end of the experiment, and the hydrocarbon-degradation potential was assessed in incubations with 14C-naphthalene. The experiments used four treatments: hydrocarbons present/absent and razor clams present/absent. Hydrocarbon dosing levels were relatively low (1 mL of oil or 30 mg of pyrene per mesocosm with 22 L of natural sediment and 11 L of seawater). The presence of the razor clams resulted in hydrocarbon concentrations at the sediment surface being 25% lower than in mesocosms without clams. No consistent effects were noted for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in the water column or in subsurface sediment. The naphthalene-degradation potential was elevated for sediment from mesocosms dosed with oil, but the presence of the clams did not affect this potential. The presence of the razor clams resulted in a lowering of water column turbidity, but no effect on sediment redox. The hydrocarbon addition had no effect on turbidity, but sediment redox was lowered. While results show that the presence of the razor clams resulted in a loss of hydrocarbons from the surface sediment, the other results do not provide a clear picture of the underlying mechanisms and the fate of the PAHs lost from the sediment surface. We hypothesize that the loss of surface sediment PAHs was due to burial of surface sediment and possibly bioaccumulation by the clams. While additional research is needed for further insights into underlying mechanisms, the present work demonstrates that the presence of sediment-burrowing suspension feeders decreases hydrocarbon levels in surface sediment. This means that assessments of the impact of an oil spill should pay attention to effects on these organisms and to their influence on the fate and distribution of the spilled oil.

The role of genetic structure in the adaptive divergence of populations experiencing saltwater intrusion due to relative sea-level rise.

Saltwater intrusion into estuaries creates stressful conditions for nektonic species. Previous studies have shown that Gambusia affinis populations with exposure to saline environments develop genetic adaptations for increased survival during salinity stress. Here, we evaluate the genetic structure of G. affinis populations, previously shown to have adaptations for increased salinity tolerance, and determine the impact of selection and gene flow on structure of these populations. We found that gene flow was higher between populations experiencing different salinity regimes within an estuary than between similar marsh types in different estuaries, suggesting the development of saline-tolerant phenotypes due to local adaptation. There was limited evidence of genetic structure along a salinity gradient, and only some of the genetic variation among sites was correlated with salinity. Our results suggest limited structure, combined with selection to saltwater intrusion, results in phenotypic divergence in spite of a lack of physical barriers to gene flow.

Adaptation to sea level rise: does local adaptation influence the demography of coastal fish populations?

This study compared the growth of two western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis populations that were previously demonstrated to have genetic adaptations that increased survival under lethal salinity exposures. The objective was to evaluate how genetic adaptations to lethal salinity stress affect population demography when exposed to sublethal salinity stress. Results indicate that chronic salinity exposure had a generally negative impact on population size, but fish originating from one of the two populations established with fish from a brackish site exhibited an increase in population size. Saltwater intrusion seems to result in reduced population size for most populations. Some populations inhabiting more saline sites, however, may develop localized adaptations, mitigating the consequences of increased salinity on population productivity.

Effects of chemical additives on hydrocarbon disappearance and biodegradation in freshwater marsh microcosms.

We determined how a cleaner and a dispersant affected hydrocarbon biodegradation in wetland soils dominated by the plant Panicum hemitomon, which occurs throughout North and South America. Microcosms received no hydrocarbons, South Louisiana crude, or diesel; and no additive, a dispersant, or a cleaner. We determined the concentration of four total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) measures and 43 target hydrocarbons in water and sediment fractions 1, 7, 31, and 186 days later. Disappearance was distinguished from biodegradation via hopane-normalization. After 186 days, TPH disappearance ranged from 24% to 97%. There was poor correlation among the four TPH measures, which indicated that each quantified a different suite of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon disappearance and biodegradation were unaltered by these additives under worse-case scenarios. Any use of these additives must generate benefits that outweigh the lack of effect on biodegradation demonstrated in this report, and the increase in toxicity that we reported earlier.

Structure and time-dependent behavior of acetylated and non-acetylated forms of a molluscan metallothionein.

Cadmium-induced metallothionein in a mollusc, the oyster Crassostrea virginica, occurs in both blocked and unblocked forms (Roesijadi, G., Kielland, S.L. and Klerks, P. (1989) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 273, 403-413). The block, which is the sole difference in the structure of the two proteins, was identified as an acetyl group with use of tandem mass spectrometry. The blocked and unblocked proteins carried N-acetylserine and serine, respectively, at the N-terminus and were designated CvNAcMT and CvMT. Only CvNAcMT was detected under basal conditions. Both forms were induced by Cd. Pulse-labeling with [35S]cyteine at specified times during exposure showed that the rate of CvNAcMT synthesis in gills increased rapidly, initially exceeding that of CvMT, then declined to the rate attained by CvMT. Turnover rates for Cd-induced CvMT and CvNAcMT were similar to each other. They appeared to be faster when measured in the absence of Cd in the external medium (k = 0.18 and 0.16/day, respectively), than in its presence (k = 0.03 and 0.06/day, respectively).

Relationship between allozyme genotype and sensitivity to stressors in the western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis detected for elevated temperature but not mercury.

Previous studies with Gambusia holbrooki have found associations of allozyme genotype with tolerance to metals, pesticides, heat, and salinity. To examine the generality of these relationships, we looked for similar associations of mercury and heat tolerance with allozyme genotype at the GPI-2, MDH-1 and MDH-2 loci in its sister species Gambusia affinis. This was done to assess if the loci themselves or closely linked loci were associated with mercury tolerance, because weaker linkage associations would be unlikely to persist across species boundaries. Moreover, the use of two very different types of stress allowed us to determine if the higher tolerance of particular allozyme genotypes is specific to a certain stress or reflects a higher tolerance to stress in general. Associations between genotype and tolerance to mercury and heat were determined in laboratory exposures of about 875 fish in each of two exposures where tolerance was measured as time-to-death, followed by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate gels. For none of the three loci did we find an association of genotype with tolerance to mercury. This contrasts with reports of such an association for GPI-2 and MDH-1 in G. holbrooki, so our results do not support the hypothesis that observed associations between allozyme genotypes and mercury tolerance are due to the allozymes or closely linked loci. However, our comparison was weakened by a scarcity of the GPI-2 genotypes reported to be mercury sensitive in G. holbrooki. Furthermore, rapid mortality in our mercury exposure may have affected the ability to detect genotypic differences in survival. The MDH-1 heterozygote showed higher tolerance to heat stress compared to homozygotes, although this difference was only significant for the most common homozygous genotype. No such relationship between MDH-1 and heat stress has been reported in G. holbrooki. We found no evidence that associations between allozyme genotype and tolerance are similar for different types of stresses, which could be an advantage for using allozymes as an indicator of exposure history to a stressor. Our study also showed that G. affinis sex and weight influence tolerance to mercury and heat.

Genetic adaptation to heavy metals in aquatic organisms: a review.

Natural populations in polluted areas are possibly subjected to selective pressures for an increased resistance to toxicants. This can result in the evolution of resistance, which may have important implications for decisions regarding safe ambient toxicant levels. By reviewing the evolution of resistance to heavy metals in aquatic organisms, we aimed to determine if all populations negatively affected by toxicants do adapt to them. If the published literature accurately represents the situation in polluted areas (i.e. negative results having an equal chance of being published), it can be concluded that most, but not all, populations in polluted areas do have an increased resistance. But it can usually not be determined if such an increased resistance has a genetic basis. There is less evidence for the evolution of resistance in metazoans (especially fish) than in micro-organisms. Additional information strongly indicates that many populations fail to survive in polluted environments. It thus seems dangerous to relax water quality criteria on the assumption that all populations in polluted environments will evolve an increased resistance. But the fact that the evolution of resistance to environmental pollutants does seem to occur in some populations in polluted environments warrants taking that possibility into consideration when evaluating the results of bioassays and monitoring programs.

Metallothionein-like proteins in the freshwater oligochaete Limnodrilus udekemianus and their role as a homeostatic mechanism against cadmium toxicity.

The purpose of this study was to determine if metallothioneins are present in the aquatic oligochaete Limnodrilus udekemianus and to determine the interplay between the presence of these proteins, cadmium (Cd) exposure, and Cd toxicity. The latter was geared specifically towards evaluating the role of metallothionein as a homeostatic mechanism against Cd toxicity. These issues are important for evaluating the usefulness of the quantification of metallothioneins as a biomonitoring tool. Worms in sediment were exposed to Cd under static conditions, with Cd initially added to the aqueous phase. Survival was monitored while respiration (as a measure of sublethal Cd effects) was determined immediately following exposure. Metallothioneins were separated from the cytosol by gel permeation high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) while Cd levels were quantified in whole worms, cytosol and cytosolic fractions. Also, a Cd-saturation assay was used to determine the amounts of Cd bound to metallothionein and the total Cd-binding capacity of the metallothionein. Limnodrilus udekemianus has a metallothionein-like protein (an inducible cytosolic protein with an apparent molecular weight of approximately 15 kD that binds high levels of Cd and shows a red shift upon Cd binding). Sediment Cd levels above 60 microg/g were lethal to the worms (in 8-day exposures). Respiration rates at 13 and 41 microg/g Cd were not significantly different from controls, though cytosolic Cd levels were substantially increased in the 41 microg/g exposure. In this latter cytosol, Cd levels were significantly elevated in the low molecular weight pool (which includes metallothioneins) but not in the other pools, while the Cd-saturation assay also showed that worms in this group had significantly elevated levels of metallothionein-bound Cd. However, in all treatments the metallothionein was far from saturated by Cd. These observations indicate that no 'spill-over' of Cd was evident as lethal levels of Cd were approached. The overall cytosolic Cd distribution, and the degree of metallothionein saturation in Limnodrilus udekemianus thus do not appear to be good predictors of Cd toxicity in this species.

Toxicity to freshwater organisms from oils and oil spill chemical treatments in laboratory microcosms.

Toxicity and temporal changes in toxicity of freshwater-marsh-microcosms containing South Louisiana Crude (SLC) or diesel fuel and treated with a cleaner or dispersant, were investigated using Chironomus tentans, Daphnia pulex, and Oryzias latipes. Bioassays used microcosm water (for D. pulex and O. latipes) or soil slurry (for C. tentans) taken 1,7, 31, and 186 days after treatment. SLC was less toxic than diesel, chemical additives enhanced oil toxicity, the dispersant was more toxic than the cleaner, and toxicities were greatly reduced by day 186. Toxicities were higher in the bioassay with the benthic species than in those with the two water-column species. A separate experiment showed that C. tentans' sensitivity was intermediate to that of Tubifex tubifex and Hyallela azteca. Freshwater organisms, especially benthic invertebrates, thus appear seriously effected by oil under the worst-case-scenario of our microcosms. Moreover, the cleaner and dispersant tested were poor response options under those conditions.

The fate of metal contaminated sediments in Foundry Cove, New York.

The distribution of heavy metal contaminated sediments in Foundry Cove, a freshwater embayment of the Hudson River, was examined twelve years after the discharging of wastes from a battery factory had ceased. Concentrations of Cd, Ni and Co were measured in surficial sediments (top 5 cm) and seven detailed depth profiles. Comparison with earlier surveys showed that metal levels of surficial sediments have been considerably reduced throughout the cove. Evidence suggests that this reduction may be largely due to burial rather than transport of metals out of the cove or a redistribution (via sediment resuspension and redeposition) within the cove. This is suggested by the presence of a peak in metal concentrations at a depth of several centimetres in depositional environments, a calculation showing the loss of waterborne cadmium to be much less than the amount of cadmium lost from the surficial sediment, and the absence of increased pollution in the cleaner parts of the cove. Despite improvement, metal levels remain extremely high, including a persistent 'hot-spot' with levels higher than 10 000 ppm Cd.

The effect of the oil dispersant Omni-Clean on the toxicity of fuel oil no. 2 in two bioassays with the sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegatus.

Bioassays (7-day early life stage and 96 h acute bioassays) were conducted with the sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus, to determine the toxicity of the dispersant Omni-Clean by itself and in combination with fuel oil no. 2. Performance characteristics of both bioassay types were also compared. Bioassays used oil by itself, dispersant by itself, and oil and dispersant in various ratios. Omni-Clean was less toxic than many other dispersants, and had a relatively small effect on individual biomass. Toxicities of the oil/dispersant combinations were generally higher than expected from the toxicities of the oil and dispersant by themselves, indicating a more-than-additive effect on toxicity. The comparison of performance characteristics between the 7-day and the 96-hour bioassays showed that the early life stage test is generally more sensitive, and has the added advantage of an additional and sensitive endpoint (fish biomass).

Heritability of resistance to individual contaminants and to contaminant mixtures in the sheepshead minnow (Cyprindon variegatus).

Resistance heritability (the additive genetic variance out of the total phenotypic variance, signifying a population's potential to genetically adapt to detrimental levels of contamination) was quantified in the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus). Heritability was estimated for tolerance to individual contaminants (phenanthrene, zinc) and to contaminant mixtures (phenanthrene plus zinc, and a complex mixture with three metals and three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Estimates were obtained from resemblances between relatives, both parent-offspring pairs, and families of sibs and half-sibs. Heritabilities determined from parent-offspring regressions averaged only 0.08 (scale, 0-1), whereas resemblance among full sibs yielded heritabilities averaging 0.85. The half-sib analysis yielded heritabilities of -0.01 (sire component) and 0.77 (dam component). This pattern in the magnitude of heritabilities indicates that heritabilities for the resistance of C. variegatus to these chemicals are low (with the high resemblances among sibs being due to common environmental and dominance genetic variation rather than additive genetic variation). The parent-offspring regressions provide evidence that heritabilities may be lower if more contaminants are involved. Our results mean, then, that C. variegatus in contaminated environments is not likely to become resistant to these contaminants very rapidly, and that resistance may develop even more slowly as more contaminants become involved.

Uptake of nickel and zinc by the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha.

Short-term experiments with nickel and zinc radioisotopesshowed that the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha takes up both"dissolved" (<0. 45 microm) and particulate fractions of thesemetals in water. Uptake of particulate nickel was significant (despite arelatively low affinity of nickel for particulate matter), though lessimportant than uptake of dissolved nickel. The relative importance ofdissolved and particulate zinc varied from an almost exclusive uptake ofdissolved zinc to uptake of particulate zinc only. This variability mayreflect a dependence on the composition of the suspended particulatematerial, in line with the observation that zinc uptake and bioaccumulationwere higher in high-turbidity water than in low-turbidity water. Metalexcretion differed between the two metals; more than half of the accumulatedzinc was excreted in twenty four hours, while no nickel excretion wasevident. The mussels removed a larger proportion of total watercolumn zincthan of total watercolumn nickel. Of the metal removed from the watercolumn,a majority of the zinc was biodeposited (as feces/pseudofeces) while most ofthe nickel was bioaccumulated. These results indicate that the introductionof the zebra mussel will result in element-specific decreases of watercolumnmetal levels, increases in metal bioaccumulation and increases in metalbiodeposition. Results also indicate that D. polymorpha tissue metallevels obtained in biomonitoring programs will generally reflect bothdissolved and particulate metal levels.

Interaction between phenanthrene and zinc in their toxicity to the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus).

Many contaminated sites contain a variety of toxicants. Risk assessment and the development of water quality criteria therefore require information on the interactive effects among toxicants in such mixtures. Interactions between metals are relatively well studied, but little is known about interactions between metals and hydrocarbons. This study investigated the interaction between phenanthrene and zinc in the sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegatus. Interaction studies were performed with 7-day-old minnows in 96-h bioassays with zinc and phenanthrene at a fixed ratio and with varying proportions of zinc and phenanthrene. Mixture toxicity was quantified with the toxic unit, additive index, and excess function methods. All three methods generally indicated an antagonistic interaction between phenanthrene and zinc, though the results also provide some evidence for a synergistic interaction at low toxicant levels or at specific phenanthrene-to-zinc ratios. Short-term uptake experiments were conducted to determine if the strong antagonistic interaction observed when zinc and phenanthrene were present at 50% of their LC50 values was due to effects of zinc and phenanthrene on each other's uptake. Significantly less 65Zn uptake occurred in the presence of phenanthrene than in its absence. In contrast, zinc did not appear to affect the uptake of 14C-phenanthrene.http://link. springer-ny.com/link/service/journals/00244/bibs/37n2p251.++ +html