Comparison of Several Toxicity Tests Applied to Complex Wastewaters and Mussel Biomarkers in Receiving Waters

In this study, the complex wastewaters/effluents discharged to coastal regions of Turkey and Greece were sampled, and various toxicity tests were applied. The bioassays used included the assessment of the luminescence inhibition of the bacterium Vibrio fisheri, the photosynthesis inhibition (¹⁴C uptake rate) and growth inhibition of the algal species Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and the mortality of the crustacean Artemia franciscana and rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Additionally, “neutral red retention” and “filtration rate” sublethal biomarker techniques were performed by utilizing the mussel species Mytilus galloproviancialis, inhabiting the points of discharges in Turkey. All discharges tested were found to be acutely toxic to P. tricornutum and slightly toxic to V. fisheri, A. franciscana, and B. plicatilis. Test results showed that the ¹⁴C uptake rate toxicity test was the most sensitive one among the other bioassays. The biomarker results showed that the health status of mussels in the coastal areas decreased significantly, indicating the pollution of the receiving waters in Turkey. The conclusions drawn highlight the necessity for an intesive ecotoxicological monitoring scheme that will incorporate the most suitable bioassays and biomarkers to adequately contribute to the upgrading and maintenance of the ecological quality of the coastal waters in Greece and in Turkey.

*Presented as an invited plenary lecture at “The 2nd Asian International Conference on Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety” (SECOTOX 2004), Songkla, Thailand, 26–29 September 2004.

Keywords:

• Bioassays
• Biomarkers
• Toxicity testing
• Wastewaters.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work has been supported by TUBİTAK, The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (Project no. 102Y010), GSRT, General Secretariat for Research & Technology, The Ministry for Development of Greece and Istanbul Technical University, Research and Development Project. We thank to Hüseyin Tüfekçi for his help to collect the samples and to Mehtap Çelemen for her technical assistance.

Notes

*Presented as an invited plenary lecture at “The 2nd Asian International Conference on Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety” (SECOTOX 2004), Songkla, Thailand, 26–29 September 2004.