Abstract
Growing human populations and increasingly intensive agriculture have resulted in widespread aquatic nitrate pollution. Freshwater mussel populations have been in decline for decades but often are underrepresented in data used for the development of ambient water quality criteria and acute toxicity of nitrate to mussel glochidia has not yet been established. Additionally, toxicity testing with aquatic species often is limited to a few model species; however, relatively little is known about how representative model species are of imperiled species. Therefore, to better define the acute toxicity of nitrate to common and rare aquatic species, we conducted 24-h nitrate acute toxicity tests with glochidia of four species of freshwater mussels, including a federally threatened species (Hamiota altilis) and 7-day tests with larval fish of three species: fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), tricolor shiner (Cyprinella trichroistia), and tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), across a range of water hardness. Median effective concentrations (EC50s) in freshwater mussel glochidia ranged from 524 to 904 mg/L NO3–N in moderately hard water. In fish, median lethal concentrations (LC50s) ranged from 228 to 1725 mg/L NO3–N and varied with water hardness. Of the species tested, generally sensitivity of the common species was similar to the rare species, although relative sensitivity varied with water hardness. Based on these results, we can conclude that acute lethal effects are unlikely for the fish and mussel species considered here at current environmental levels, but the results of these standardized tests are useful for the development of ambient water quality criteria and other regulatory and management decisions regarding acute nitrate exposures.
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Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was provided by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Support Partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey through Cooperative Agreement No. G15AC00213 at the University of Georgia. Assistantship support for A.P.M. was provided by the University of Georgia Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia via the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Mussels used in these experiments were generously provided by Dr. Paul Johnson and the staff at the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center, Dr. Chris Barnhart at the University of Missouri, and Dr. Jim Stoeckel at Auburn University. The authors thank Bob Ratajczak for his assistance in the collection of fish and execution of this study. This study was conducted under the auspices of the University of Georgia Animal Use Protocol No. A2016 06-030-Y2-A2.
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Moore, A.P., Bringolf, R.B. Comparative Toxicity of Nitrate to Common and Imperiled Freshwater Mussel Glochidia and Larval Fishes. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 78, 536–544 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00708-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00708-z