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Selenium cycling in a marine dominated estuary: Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia a case study

William A. Maher https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7564-3383 A * , Graeme E. Batley https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3798-3368 B , Frank Krikowa A , Michael J. Ellwood https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4288-8530 A , Jaimie Potts C , Rebecca Swanson C and Peter Scanes C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B CSIRO Land and Water, Lucas Heights, NSW 2232, Australia.

C Science, Economics and Insights Division, NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Sydney, NSW 2141, Australia.




William Maher is the Professor of Environmental Chemistry at the Australian National University. He has a sustained trace record in the understanding biogeochemical cycling of trace metals, metalloids and nutrients in aquatic ecosystems, development of water quality and sampling guidelines and development of analytical procedures for measuring trace contaminants in water, sediment and biota. He has published over 300 papers. He was awarded the RACI Analytical Divisions medal in 2002 and the RACI Environmental Chemistry Divisions medal in 2004. He also co-authored a Handbook of Sediment Quality Assessment that won the Eureka Prize for water research 2006. Recently he was awarded the University of Canberra Institute for Applied Ecology-Senior scientist award 2012.



Graeme Batley is a Post-retirement Fellow with CSIRO Land and Water in Sydney. He is a leading researcher in the area of trace contaminants in aquatic systems, with a focus on contaminant speciation, bioavailability and toxicity in waters and sediments. He has played an ongoing major role in the development of a water and sediment quality guidelines for Australia and New Zealand. In 2022, he was inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to environmental toxicology and chemical science.



Frank Krikowa I have been employed as the Laboratory Manager of the EcoChemistry Laboratory, at the University of Canberra, since its creation in 1997.  I have worked in the fields of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometry, the cycling of trace metals and nutrients in the environment. I have developed new methods, techniques and approaches in analytical and environmental chemistry. This requires in-depth knowledge of Quality Assurance procedures.



Michael Ellwood is a Professor of Marine Biogeochemistry in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University. His research interests include understanding processes influencing trace element speciation and distributions in natural waters, trace metal incorporation into marine organisms, and developing analytical methods for aquatic chemistry.



Jaimie Potts Experienced Senior Environmental Scientist within the government sector. Skilled in Life Sciences, Ecology, Biogeochemistry, Water Quality Monitoring, Estuary Health Assessments and Impact of Urban and Industrial Pollution on Estuary Condition. Passionate ocean lover and avid surfer with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Ecochemistry from the University of Canberra.



Rebecca Swanson has worked as an Environmental Scientist at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment since 2012 in the Estuaries and Catchments science team. Rebecca has worked on a range of projects with local government and state agencies to research and monitor the impacts of industrial, urban and agricultural land use on water quality and ecological health of the receiving waterways.



Dr Peter Scanes is an Honorary Research Fellow, Waters and Coastal Science Section, Department of Planning Industry and Environment. Peter has a PhD from in marine ecology University of Sydney and has worked as an estuary and coastal river ecologist for over 30 years. 

* Correspondence to: maher.canberra@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Kevin Wilkinson

Environmental Chemistry 19(4) 132-143 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN22032
Submitted: 11 April 2022  Accepted: 7 June 2022   Published: 27 July 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Environmental context. Knowledge of the fate of selenium in estuaries receiving inputs from coal-fired power stations is essential as these environments are important nursery habitats for marine life and selenium has been shown to cause fish and bird mortality and sublethal effects including oedema, chromosomal aberrations and reproductive success. Understanding selenium cycling allows risk assessment to be undertaken and appropriate action to protect resident organisms.

Abstract. The fate of selenium (Se) inputs from coal-fired power station operations in a marine dominated estuary, Lake Macquarie NSW, is explored, as well as Se toxicity, including sublethal and population effects. Selenium is rapidly adsorbed to sediments, and food webs are based on benthic food sources. Selenium is remobilised from sediments by volatilisation and diffusional processes following bioturbation. It is then transferred into food chains via benthic microalgae, deposit feeders and filter-feeding organisms processing suspended sediments. Historically, Se has been found to accumulate in fish to levels above those considered safe for human consumption. After the remediation of a major ash dam in 1995, Se inputs to Lake Macquarie have declined, and the Se concentrations of sediments have also reduced partially due to the deposition of cleaner sediment but also due to the formation of volatile dimethyl selenide. Bioturbation of oxidised surface sediments also results in the release of inorganic Se. In response to decreases in sediment Se concentrations, molluscs and fish Se concentrations have also reduced below deleterious levels, with most fish now being safe for human consumption. Selenium cycling involves the transformation of inorganic species (Se0, SeII, SeIV, SeVI) in sediments and the water column to dimethylselenide and dimethyl diselenide by bacteria with the accumulation of organic Se species in plant detritus (selenomethionine) and animals (selenomethionine and selenocysteine). Dissolved Se concentrations in Lake Macquarie, except near ash dam inputs, have always been well below those that cause toxicity. There is evidence based on Se sediment-spiking studies, however, that Se is probably causing sublethal effects. When undertaking risk assessments of Se, careful consideration should be given to understanding the fate of Se inputs and remobilisation into food webs as not all systems act in accordance with published studies that generally have high Se concentrations in the water column and phytoplankton-based food webs.

Keywords: bioaccumulation, biogeochemical cycling, biomagnification, inputs, Lake Macquarie, selenium, speciation, toxicity.


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