Evaluation of Corophium orientale as bioindicator for Venice Lagoon: sensitivity assessment and toxicity-score proposal.

The 96-h water-only exposure and 10-d sediment toxicity tests with the amphipod Corophium orientale were performed in order to enhance the knowledge about its overall sensitivity and its applicability to Venice Lagoon sediments. The values obtained with cadmium as reference toxicant demonstrated a certain variability of the LC(50); the higher value was found in spring and the lower in late summer. Tests with other pure chemicals (Ni, Total Ammonia, Sodium Dodecyl-Sulphate) showed good discriminatory power; the toxicity gradient observed was: Cd (LC(50) of 3.3 mg/L)>SDS (LC(50) of 8.7 mg/L)>total ammonia (LC(50) of 126mg/L)>Ni (LC(50) of 352 mg/L). Sediment toxicity test results were used to obtain information on non-treatment factors (grain-size, TOC content) that could act as confounding factors, and to develop a site-specific toxicity-score based on minimum significant difference approach. Confounding factors seem not to affect test results. The procedure to develop the toxicity score took into account the relatively lower sensitivity of C. orientale with respect to other amphipods commonly used in toxicity tests (Ampelisca abdita and Rhepoxynius abronius).

Toxicity of heavy metals using sperm cell and embryo toxicity bioassays with Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea): comparisons with exposure concentrations in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy.

Sperm cell and embryo toxicity tests using the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus Lmk were performed to assess the toxicity of As3+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, and Hg2+. The aim of this study was to improve information about the comparative sensitivity of sea urchin bioassays to the heavy metals, which are an important cause of contamination in the ecosystem of the Lagoon of Venice. Considering the data in mM/L, the order of toxicity is Hg2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > As3+ > or = Cr3+ > or = Cd2+ > or = Pb2+ > or = Ni2+ for the sperm cell test and Hg2+ > or = Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+ > Ni2+ > As3+ > or = Cr3+ for the embryo test. New toxicity data for metals expressed as median effective concentration (EC50) and no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) are reported for the Mediterranean species. Accurate observations of embryotoxic effects at increasing metal concentrations were done, detecting some different behaviors in metal toxicity. Toxicity data compared with water column and pore-water concentrations recorded in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy) demonstrate the potential ability of bioassays using sea urchin to detect important contaminants in this ecosystem.

Toxicity of tributyltin and triphenyltin to early life-stages of Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea).

Sperm cell and embryo toxicity tests using the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus were performed to assess the toxicity of tributyltin chloride, bis(tributyltin)oxide, triphenyltin acetate, and triphenyltin hydroxide. Toxicity values (mean effective concentration [EC50]) ranged from 2.97 to 18.5 microg/L for sperm cells and from 1.11 to 2.62 microg/L for embryos. For sperm cells, the toxicity of the two tributyl compounds was significantly greater than that of two triphenyl compounds; for embryos, the triphenyl compounds appeared to be more toxic. Study of embryotoxic effects highlighted closely concentration-dependent damages, the most sensitive stages corresponding to the crucial phases of differentiation (gastrula and prisma). Both EC50 and no-observed-effect concentration values for the four organotin compounds are similar to those reported in the literature for early life stages of other marine organisms.

Integration of biological responses from a suite of bioassays for the Venice Lagoon (Italy) through sediment toxicity index - part A: development and comparison of two methodological approaches.

Marine and coastal quality assessment, based on test batteries involving a wide array of endpoints, organisms and test matrices, needs for setting up toxicity indices that integrate multiple toxicological measures for decision-making processes and that classify the continuous toxicity response into discrete categories according to the European Water Framework Directive. Two toxicity indices were developed for the lagoon environment such as the Venice Lagoon. Stepwise procedure included: the construction of a database that identified test-matrix pairs (indicators); the selection of a minimum number of ecotoxicological indicators, called toxicological core metrics (CMs-tox) on the basis of specific criteria; the development of toxicity scores for each CM-tox; the integration of the CMs-tox into two indices, the Toxicity Effect Index (TEI), based on the transformation of Toxic Unit (TU) data that were integrated as logarithmic sum, and the Weighted Average Toxicity Index (WATI), starting from toxicity classes integrated as weighted mean. Results from the indices are compared; advantages and drawbacks of both approaches are discussed.

Porewater as a matrix in toxicity bioassays with sea urchins and bivalves: evaluation of applicability to the Venice lagoon (Italy).

Porewater plays an important role in sediment toxicity assessment using bioassays, but the most reliable extracting method and the potential contribution of confounding factors to the real toxicity need to be studied. The applicability of bioassays with the early life stages of Paracentrotus lividus, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Crassostrea gigas on porewaters extracted by centrifugation from the Venice Lagoon (Italy) is evaluated and demonstrated: toxicity tests can discriminate the toxicity of porewaters from sites with different kinds and levels of pollution and, using toxicity scores, data are classified in five toxicity classes. Sulphides do not represent a confounding factor in porewater toxicity; in contrast ammonia exhibited some concentrations above the toxicity threshold for sea urchin embryos.

Developing toxicity scores for embryotoxicity tests on elutriates with the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, the oyster Crassostrea gigas, and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

Bioassays are routinely employed for sediment quality assessment. In order to be able to effectively use Bioassays responses in regulatory and management frameworks, toxicity scores, which rank toxicity data in defined classes that are continuous and difficult to interpret, should be reliable and suitable tools to support decisions about the presence or absence of toxicity in tested samples and on how toxic a sample is. A statistical approach is needed to define thresholds for toxicity scores. The Minimum Significance Difference (MSD) criterion allowed the evaluation of toxicity thresholds for each test-matrix and organism pair, based on large sets of experimental data. The MSD values were normalized with respect to the control, ranked in ascending order, and the 90th percentile was identified; the Toxicity Threshold (TT) was calculated by subtracting the 90th percentile from 100 and the Toxicity Limit (TL) was estimated as the percentage of control response multiplied by TT. Taking into account sample responses normalized with respect to control (S), when S > TL, the sample is considered nontoxic; when S

Potential role of sulfide and ammonia as confounding factors in elutriate toxicity bioassays with early life stages of sea urchins and bivalves.

This work reports some considerations on the possible contribution of sulfide and ammonia to the toxicity of elutriate samples of sediments from the Venice lagoon, tested with a battery of bioassays using early life stages of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the oyster Crassostrea gigas. A comparison of ammonia or sulfide concentration in the test matrix, matrix toxicity, and the sensitivity limit of bioassays for ammonia or sulfide were used in evaluating toxicity data. Results highlighted that sperm cell and embryo toxicity of elutriates were not affected by sulfides. Neither was any direct relationship shown between elutriate toxicity and ammonia concentration. Most elutriates had ammonia concentrations below the sensitivity limit of acute test methods, while the more sensitive subchronic toxicity tests were affected by ammonia interference in some samples.