Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC03 Undergraduate Education

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Schaefer, S, C, University of Maryland Sea Grant REU, College Park, USA, scs7p@virginia.edu

Bundy, M, H, Academy of Natural Sciences Estuarine Research Center, St. Leonard, USA, bundy@acnatsci.org

Riedel, G, F, Academy of Natural Sciences Estuarine Research Center, St. Leonard, USA, friedel@acnatsci.org

UPTAKE OF TRACE METALS FROM SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS BY THE CALANOID COPEPOD EURYTEMORA AFFINIS

The copepod Eurytemora affinis is an estuarine species that is dominant year round in the turbidity maximum of many subtropical estuaries. This calanoid is a primary prey of juvenile and larval fish in these regions. In spite of a wealth of information about the uptake of trace metals from contaminated phytoplankton, the uptake of trace metals associated with suspended sediment by suspension-feeding zooplankton has not been well studied. This study examined the uptake and assimilation of trace metals over a 44 hour exposure period to four concentrations of suspended sediment labeled with 65Zn, 51Cr, and 109Cd. Cadmium uptake showed significant difference from controls at both the highest and the lowest sediment levels. Zinc uptake was highly significant at all sediment levels. There was no significant difference in uptake of chromium. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between non-depurated and depurated copepods, suggesting that most of the trace metal ingested is assimilated. The results of this study are discussed in terms of their implications regarding dredging activity and placement of dredge spoil in contaminated estuarine systems.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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