Mh. Murdoch et al., CHRONIC EFFECTS OF ORGANOCHLORINE EXPOSURE IN SEDIMENT TO THE MARINE POLYCHAETE NEANTHES ARENACEODENTATA, Environmental toxicology and chemistry, 16(7), 1997, pp. 1494-1503
Organisms exposed to organochlorinated compounds in sediments are like
ly to suffer chronic rather than acute effects. Thus, acute toxicity t
ests are unlikely to truly assess their potential impact. A 120-d toxi
city test was designed to assess the impact of organochlorine exposure
(polychlorinated biphenyl and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) on the
marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata. A two-tiered approach was
used: Tier I involved reference sediment spiked with a range of conce
ntrations of the two organochlorines bracketing the concentrations fou
nd in natural sediments, and tier II involved field sediments collecte
d from a coastal area contaminated with high concentrations of the sam
e two organochlorines. Testing measured a number of endpoints, includi
ng survival, growth, and reproduction. Survival and growth were unaffe
cted in either tier by any of the test sediments. Reproductive endpoin
ts, however, were depressed in both tiers relative to the reference se
diment.