1199532_Price,G_2022.pdf (613.6 kB)
Download fileThe influence of hardness at varying pH on zinc toxicity and lability to a freshwater microalga, Chlorella sp.
journal contribution
posted on 2022-06-07, 04:07 authored by GAV Price, Jenny StauberJenny Stauber, Aleicia HollandAleicia Holland, DJ Koppel, EJ Van Genderen, AC Ryan, DF JolleyZinc is an essential element for aquatic organisms, however, activities such as mining and refining, as well as zinc's ubiquitous role in modern society can contribute to elevated environmental concentrations of zinc. Water hardness is widely accepted as an important toxicity modifying factor for metals in aquatic systems, though other factors such as pH are also important. This study investigated the influence of increasing water hardness, at three different pH values (6.7, 7.6 and 8.3), on the chronic toxicity of zinc to the growth rate of a microalgae, Chlorella sp. Zinc toxicity decreased with increasing hardness from 5 to 93 mg CaCO3 L−1 at all three pH values tested. The 72 h growth rate inhibition EC50 values ranged from 6.2 μg Zn L−1 (at 5 mg CaCO3 L−1, pH 8.3) to 184 μg Zn L−1 (at 92 mg CaCO3 L−1, pH 6.7). Increases in hardness from 93 to 402 mg CaCO3 L−1 generally resulted in no significant (p > 0.05) reduction in zinc toxicity. DGT-labile zinc measurements did not correspond with the observed changes in zinc toxicity as hardness was varied within a pH treatment. This suggests that cationic competition from increased hardness is decreasing zinc toxicity, rather than changes in metal lability. This study highlighted that current hardness algorithms used in water quality guidelines may not be sufficiently protective of sensitive species, such as Chlorella sp., in high hardness waters.
Funding
The present study was funded by the International Zinc Association and an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship for G. Price. We thank S. Stone and K. McKnight for providing technical advice during method development and manuscript preparation. We also thank G. Batley and D. Spadaro for providing comments which improved the manuscript.
History
Publication Date
2022-01-01Journal
Environmental Science: Processes and ImpactsVolume
24Issue
5Pagination
11p. (p. 783-793)Publisher
Royal Society of ChemistryISSN
2050-7887Rights Statement
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non- commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/Publisher DOI
Usage metrics
Keywords
Science & TechnologyPhysical SciencesLife Sciences & BiomedicineChemistry, AnalyticalEnvironmental SciencesChemistryEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyBIOTIC LIGAND MODELALGA PSEUDOKIRCHNERIELLA-SUBCAPITATADAPHNIA-MAGNABIOAVAILABILITY MODELSPREDICTING ACUTEQUALITY CRITERIACOPPER TOXICITYRAINBOW-TROUTTHIN-FILMSCALCIUMChlorellaCopperFresh WaterHardnessHydrogen-Ion ConcentrationMetalsMicroalgaeWater Pollutants, ChemicalZincChemical Sciences not elsewhere classified