Acute waterborne copper toxicity to the euryhaline copepod Acartia tonsa at different salinities: Influence of natural freshwater and marine dissolved organic matter

The influence of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM) on acute waterborne Cu toxicity was evaluated in the euryhaline copepod Acartia tonsa at 3 different water salinities. Three sources of freshwater DOM (extracted by reverse osmosis) and 2 sources of marine DOM (extracted using a solid-phase technique) were used. Artificial salt water was used to prepare the experimental media. Different combinations of Cu concentrations and DOM sources and concentrations were tested at salinities of 5, 15, and 30 ppt. Toxicity data (48-h median lethal concentration [LC50] values) were calculated based on dissolved Cu concentrations. In a broad view, data showed that increasing salinity was protective against the acute waterborne Cu toxicity. In general, Cu toxicity was also lower in the presence than in the absence of DOM. Toxicity (48-h LC50) values from all treatments at the same salinity showed a positive linear relationship with the dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Thus, the protective effect of DOM against the acute Cu toxicity seems to be dependent mainly on the DOM concentration. However, it seems also to be dependent to some extent on the source of DOM used. In summary, findings reported in the present study clearly indicate that both salinity and DOM (source and concentration) should be taken into account in the development of an estuarine version of the biotic ligand model.