Rs. Maclean et al., BIOACCUMULATION KINETICS AND TOXICITY OF LEAD IN HYALELLA-AZTECA (CRUSTACEA, AMPHIPODA), Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 53(10), 1996, pp. 2212-2220
Accumulation and depuration of Pb in Hyalella azteca were rapid and fi
t a one-compartment first order kinetics model. The elimination rate c
onstant was 0.76 or 0.52/day, estimated during accumulation or elimina
tion, respectively. Body size had only a weak negative effect on the P
b concentration in Pb-exposed H. azteca. One-week-old H. azteca were a
pproximately twice as sensitive to Pb in 8-day toxicity tests as 10- t
o 16-week-old amphipods. LC(50)s and whole body LD(50)s were 97.3 nM a
nd 349 nmol/g for the 1-week-old and 216 nM and 728 nmol/g for the 10-
to 16-week-old H. azteca. Pre-exposure of 1-week-old H. azteca for 4
weeks to 100 nM Pb solutions resulted in a small but nonsignificant in
crease in resistance to Pb. Estimates for LC(50)s and LD(50)s were 114
nM and 434 nmol/g for the control nonexposed and 132 nM and 490 nmol/
g for the Pb pre-exposed group. Pb was accumulated as a nonlinear func
tion of water concentration in H. azteca in both toxicity studies. The
relationship was described equally well using a log-log regression or
a one-compartment saturation kinetics model. At low aqueous Pb concen
trations the saturation model reduces to the one-compartment saturatio
n kinetics model.