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EVALUATION OF BIOACCUMULATION AND PHOTOINDUCED TOXICITY OF FLUORANTHENE IN LARVAL AND ADULT LIFE-STAGES OF CHIRONOMUS TENTANS
Citation:
Bell, H. E., K. Liber, D. J. Call, AND G T. Ankley. EVALUATION OF BIOACCUMULATION AND PHOTOINDUCED TOXICITY OF FLUORANTHENE IN LARVAL AND ADULT LIFE-STAGES OF CHIRONOMUS TENTANS. ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION & TOXICOLOGY. Springer Science+Business Media, 47:297-303, (2004).
Impact/Purpose:
To improve assessments of photoinduced toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to potentially sensitive life-stages
Description:
Laboratory sediment tests were conducted to evaluate the bioaccumulation and photoinduced toxicity of fluoranthene in larval and adult life-stages of Chironomus tentans. In the first of two experiments, fourth-instar and adult C. tentans exposed to spiked sediments were collected for determination of fluoranthene tissue and ultraviolet (UV) radiation treatment in the absence of sediment (water-only). Larval fluoranthese tissue concentrations after a 72 h exposure were a factor of seven greater than the adults collected upon emergence from the spiked sediments. Fluoranthene-exposed adults were very tolerant of UV exposure whereas larvae were more sensitive. In the second experiment, C. tentans larvae were exposed for 96 h to two sediment treatments, following which fluoranthese tissue concentrations were determined and UV exposures conducted under water-only versus sediment conditions. Exposure to UV radiation in conjunction with sediments provided larvae with significant protection from photoinduced toxicity as compared to the water-only exposure. Adults which emerged from these two treatment sediments were analyzed for fluoranthese tissue residues and also exposed to UV radiation. Fluoranthene tissue residues were higher in adult females than in adult males; significantly, exuviae from both sexes contained higher fluoranthene concentrations than tissue. Consistent with the greater residue concentrations, female midges demonstrated a significant decrease in survival under UV radiation exposure compared to males. These studies provide the basis for better assessing the risk of photoinduced toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to potentially sensitive life-stages of a representative freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate.