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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Water Quality and Ecology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #94908
Title: TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTED WETLAND HABITAT SEDIMENTS UTILIZINGHYALELLA AZTECA 10-DAY SEDIMENT TOXICITY TESTS AND BACTERIAL BIOLUMINESCENCE

Author
item STEEVENS, JEFFERY - UNIV. OF MISSISSIPPI
item SANDEEP, S. - UNIV. OF MISSISSIPPI
item KALLIES, KENNETH - USDA (FORMER EMPLOYEE)
item Knight, Scott
item Cooper, Charles
item BENSON, WILLIAM - UNIV. OF MISSISSIPPI

Submitted to: Chemosphere
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Testing sediment and water for toxic chemicals is very expensive, however these tests are often necessary to know if natural habitat will be suitable for wildlife. Inexpensive tests using bacteria and small insect-like animals called scuds were developed to screen sediment and water for toxic pesticides. These tools will allow biologist and wildlife managers to test habitat safely for fish and wildlife. The new tests are inexpensive and easy to use and will be of great value to fish and wildlife managers world wide.

Technical Abstract: A toxicological evaluation was conducted on temporary pond habitats created as a result of runoff from agricultural areas. These temporary ponds were created by using drop pipes as a mean of reducing erosional cuttings in agricultural fields. Inhibition of bacterial bioluminescence and *Hyalella azteca* was used to assess the toxicity of sediment pore water and whole sediment, respectively. The bacterial bioluminescence assay was initially used to determine relative toxicity of pore water from nine temporary pond sites. Sediments from pond sample sites were compared to sediments from the University of Mississippi Biological Field Station, a relatively pristine reference site. The *H. azteca* ten-day sediment toxicity test was utilized to assess sediment from four selected sites using survival and growth as toxicological endpoints. Results from the toxicological evaluation, along with extensive ecological evaluations, will be used to assess the best approach for implementation of temporary pond habitats with existing agricultural practices.