Toxicity of Metals to the Bivalve Tellina deltoidalis and Relationships Between Metal Bioaccumulation and Metal Partitioning Between Seawater and Marine Sediments

The Australian benthic bivalve Tellina deltoidalis tolerates a wide range of sediment and water conditions, is easy to handle in the laboratory, and is a useful species for undertaking whole-sediment toxicity tests. The sensitivity of T. deltoidalis to metals was investigated in 10-day metal-spiked sediment exposures for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn and in water-only exposures for Cu and Zn. The survival of T. deltoidalis in 10-day exposures to metal-spiked sediments was 88–100% for Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations of 75, 420, 1,000, and 4,000 mg/kg, respectively. The 4-day LC₅₀s for dissolved Cu and Zn were 0.18 and 13 mg/L, respectively. The 8-day LC₅₀ for Cu was 31 (24–34) μg/L. Cu and Zn concentrations in the tissues of T. deltoidalis increase linearly with increasing dissolved exposure concentration. In the Cu-spiked sediment and water exposures, the survival was negatively correlated with the Cu concentration in both the overlying water and in the tissues of T. deltoidalis. In contrast, particulate Cu concentrations were found to be a poor predictor of Cu bioaccumulation and toxicity for Cu-spiked sediments.