A1 Journal article (refereed)
Sulfate sensitivity of aquatic organism in soft freshwaters explored by toxicity tests and species sensitivity distribution (2023)

Karjalainen, J., Hu, X., Mäkinen, M., Karjalainen, A., Järvistö, J., Järvenpää, K., Sepponen, M., & Leppänen, M. T. (2023). Sulfate sensitivity of aquatic organism in soft freshwaters explored by toxicity tests and species sensitivity distribution. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 258, Article 114984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114984

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Karjalainen, Juha; Hu, Xiaoxuan; Mäkinen, Mikko; Karjalainen, Anna; Järvistö, Johanna; Järvenpää, Kaisa; Sepponen, Minna; Leppänen, Matti T.

Journal or series: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

ISSN: 0147-6513

eISSN: 1090-2414

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 10/05/2023

Volume: 258

Article number: 114984

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Publication country: Netherlands

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114984

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/87031

Abstract

Elevated concentrations of sulfate in waterways are observed due to various anthropogenic activities. Elevated levels of sulfate can have harmful effects on aquatic life in freshwaters: sulfate can cause osmotic stress or specific ion toxicity in aquatic organisms, especially in soft waters where Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations are low. Formerly, chronic toxicity test data in soft water have been scarce. The chronic and acute sulfate toxicity tests conducted with aquatic organisms from 10 families across various trophic levels in this study multiplied the number of tests conducted in soft freshwater conditions and enabled derivation of the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) and sulfate hazardous concentrations for soft freshwaters. The cladoceran Daphnia longispina and freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis were the most sensitive to sulfate among the studied species. Harmful effects on the reproduction of D. longispina were observed at 49 mg SO4 /L while growth of L. stagnalis was inhibited at 217 mg SO4 /L. Most studied organisms tolerated high sulfate concentrations: the median of chronic effective concentrations (EC10 or LC10) was 1008 mg/L for all the species tested in this study. Based on the species sensitivity distribution of the studied species the hazardous concentration for 5 % of aquatic organism (HC5) in soft waters was 117–194 mg SO4/L. Different data set combinations were used to demonstrate the data variability in SSD-based HC5 estimates. The lowest values were produced from combining biotest results from the present study and earlier literature, while the highest values were calculated from the present study only. The derived chronic no-effect concentrations (PNEC) varied between 39 and 65 mg SO4/L.

Keywords: sulfates; fresh water; water systems; toxicity; concentration (chemical properties); fishes; invertebrates; water pollution; water quality; aquatic fauna; aquatic ecosystems; risk assessment

Free keywords: fish; hazardous concentration; invertebrates; macrophytes; phytoplankton; aquatic risk assessment

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2023

Preliminary JUFO rating: 2