Determining the relative sensitivity of benthic diatoms to atrazine using rapid toxicity testing: A novel method

Wood, RJ; Mitrovic, SM; Kefford, BJ

Determining the relative sensitivity of benthic diatoms to atrazine using rapid toxicity testing: A novel method

Wood, RJ

Mitrovic, SM

Kefford, BJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Science of the Total Environment, 2014, 485-486 (1), pp. 421 - 427
Issue Date:: 2014-07-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wood, RJ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6389-1048	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mitrovic, SM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-2215	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kefford, BJ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6789-4254	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:15:53Z
dc.date.issued	2014-07-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Science of the Total Environment, 2014, 485-486 (1), pp. 421 - 427	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0048-9697	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35846
dc.description.abstract	Herbicides pose a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems, especially to phototrophic organisms such as benthic diatoms. Benthic diatoms may be a valuable indicator of the toxic impacts of herbicides in aquatic systems. However, this requires information on the herbicide sensitivity of a wide range of freshwater benthic diatom taxa. Unfortunately this information is only available for a limited number of species as current methods of developing new algae toxicity tests on individual taxa are lengthy and costly. To address this issue, we developed a new rapid toxicity test method to test natural benthic communities, from which the relative herbicide sensitivity of many individual taxa can be derived. This involved the collection of natural benthic communities from rocks in situ, which were placed directly into laboratory toxicity tests. Sensitivity data for several diatom genera in a 48hour exposure toxicity test were produced, without the need for cultures or multiple site visits. After exposure to the highest treatment of atrazine (500μgL<sup>-1</sup>) there were significant declines of healthy cells in the most sensitive genera: Gomphonema declined by 74%, Amphora by 62%, Cymbella by 54% and Ulnaria by 34% compared to control levels. In contrast, the genera, Eunotia, Achnanthidium and Navicula, had no statistically significant decline in cell health. This method can identify the diatom taxa most at risk of herbicide toxicity within the natural benthic diatom community. The rapid toxicity testing method presented is a simple and effective method to obtain sensitivity data for multiple taxa within a natural benthic diatom community in a relatively short period of time. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Science of the Total Environment	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.03.115	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Sciences	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Diatoms	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Atrazine	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Herbicides	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Water Pollutants, Chemical	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Toxicity Tests	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Environmental Monitoring	en_US
dc.title	Determining the relative sensitivity of benthic diatoms to atrazine using rapid toxicity testing: A novel method	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	485-486	en_US
utslib.for	039901 Environmental Chemistry (incl. Atmospheric Chemistry)	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of the Environment
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	485-486	en_US

Abstract:

Herbicides pose a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems, especially to phototrophic organisms such as benthic diatoms. Benthic diatoms may be a valuable indicator of the toxic impacts of herbicides in aquatic systems. However, this requires information on the herbicide sensitivity of a wide range of freshwater benthic diatom taxa. Unfortunately this information is only available for a limited number of species as current methods of developing new algae toxicity tests on individual taxa are lengthy and costly. To address this issue, we developed a new rapid toxicity test method to test natural benthic communities, from which the relative herbicide sensitivity of many individual taxa can be derived. This involved the collection of natural benthic communities from rocks in situ, which were placed directly into laboratory toxicity tests. Sensitivity data for several diatom genera in a 48hour exposure toxicity test were produced, without the need for cultures or multiple site visits. After exposure to the highest treatment of atrazine (500μgL^-1) there were significant declines of healthy cells in the most sensitive genera: Gomphonema declined by 74%, Amphora by 62%, Cymbella by 54% and Ulnaria by 34% compared to control levels. In contrast, the genera, Eunotia, Achnanthidium and Navicula, had no statistically significant decline in cell health. This method can identify the diatom taxa most at risk of herbicide toxicity within the natural benthic diatom community. The rapid toxicity testing method presented is a simple and effective method to obtain sensitivity data for multiple taxa within a natural benthic diatom community in a relatively short period of time. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

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