Modelling copper uptake by Saccostrea glomerata with diffusive gradients in a thin film measurements
Mark A. Jordan A , Peter R. Teasdale A C , Ryan J. K. Dunn B and Shing Y. Lee AA Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast campus, Qld 4222, Australia.
B Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University, Gold Coast campus, Qld 4222, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: p.teasdale@griffith.edu.au
Environmental Chemistry 5(4) 274-280 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN07092
Submitted: 7 December 2007 Accepted: 5 June 2008 Published: 19 August 2008
Environmental context. Organisms, like commercially available rock oysters, can be used to measure the uptake of contaminants (e.g. trace metals) and thereby provide a relative measure of water quality between sites or of water quality changes over time. However, these measurements cannot be directly compared with water quality guidelines, which require water concentrations and not tissue concentrations, to provide an absolute indication of water quality. The present study found that the amount of copper accumulated in oyster tissue was proportional to water copper concentrations measured by passive sampler devices, thereby allowing oyster copper accumulation to be interpreted in terms of biologically-available copper water concentrations and to be compared with the water quality guidelines.
Abstract. Copper bioaccumulation in transplanted oysters, Saccostrea glomerata, was compared with measurements of water concentrations. Tissue copper measurements were positively correlated with acid-soluble copper concentrations (n = 6, r = 0.874, P = 0.023) and with DGT (diffusive gradients in a thin film)-accumulated copper mass at two sites (n = 9, r = 0.967, P < 0.001; n = 9, r = 0.888, P = 0.001) where continual bioaccumulation occurred. The more significant correlations are likely due to the time-integrated nature of DGT measurements, despite the biomonitor measuring different copper species. This empirical relationship allowed S. glomerata-available copper concentrations (0.70–1.6 μg L–1) to be modelled across 14 sites and produced a highly significant correlation (r = 0.787, P = 0.001) with DGT-labile copper measurements (0.10–0.49 μg L–1). This approach allowed biomonitor measurements to be compared with water quality guidelines and would further expand the use of biomonitors for aquatic monitoring if widely replicated.
Additional keywords: biomonitors, heavy metals, passive sampler, water quality guidelines.
Acknowledgements
The present research was funded by a grant from the Gold Coast City Council. The authors would like to thank the Griffith Centre for Coastal Management for supporting this research and previous research utilising the DGT technique in the field. The assistance of Kelly O’Halloran with analysing samples on the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer was greatly appreciated. The authors would also like to thank the four anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved this manuscript.
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