E. His et al., A comparison between oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) larval bioassays for toxicological studies, WATER RES, 33(7), 1999, pp. 1706-1718
respective sensitivity of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and sea urchin (Palace
ntrotus lividus) embryos and larvae to The salinity, and to various micropo
llutants (four heavy metals, three pesticides) and to two polluted sediment
s were compared with a simplified bioassay method. C. gigas embryos and lar
vae were more sensitive to copper; the sensitivity of both species to tribu
tyltin (TBT) was practically the same; P. lividus was more sensitive to lea
d and mercury. The only pesticide found to be toxic was a herbicide, Dinote
rbe, to which oyster larvae were more sensitive than sea urchin plutei. OF
the two sediments tested, the first one had effects on P. lividus embryogen
esis only; C. gigas embryos and larvae were more affected by the second sed
iment which was originated from a harbour and was polluted by heavy-metals.
The choice of species for biomonitoring may be based on biological conside
rations, such as the availability of mature adults for obtaining gametes, o
r on the salinity of the studied area; the oyster bioassay seems to be more
suitable for coastal and estuarine brackish waters, because of the broader
salinity tolerance of estuarine bivalve larvae as compared to sea urchin l
arvae. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.