Survival and Behavioral Responses of the Snail Elimia clavaeformis (Lea) in a Metal Contaminated Stream
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 28, 2019
- Creator
-
Burris, Janet
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
- Abstract
- The responses of transplanted snails, Elimia clavaeformis were used to assess in situ toxicity and the bioavailability of metals in a stream. Bear Creek, draining a large waste disposal area near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Caged snails were placed monthly at four study sites in the contaminated stream and one study site in a reference stream for 7 day exposures from September 1986 to January 1987. Substrate-filled trays containing snails were also placed in each site for 30 day exposures. Toxicity (measured as the percentage of snails stressed or dying) decreased with distance downstream. Aluminum, cadmium and strontium were significantly (p < 0.05) accumulated by the snails at the most upstream study site compared to background levels of these metals in snails from the reference site. Cadmium and cobalt accumulation in the snails correlated with duration of exposure. Marked Elimia released in the most contaminated site exhibit abnormal patterns of dispersal compared to dispersal patterns of snails in the reference stream and other less contaminated sites in Bear Creek. Suspended flocculent metal hydroxides, suspended solids, and dissolved Cd and Ni are implicated as potential contributors to the mortality, stress and behavior of Elimia upstream in Bear Creek. The in situ use of snails to assess toxicity of ambient water and the bioavailability of contaminants is a promising technique for evaluating ecological effects of waste disposal operations.
- Date of publication
- January 1987
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Advisor
- Turner, Alvis G.
- Sobsey, Mark
- Stewart, Arthur J.
- Degree
- Master of Science in Public Health
- Academic concentration
- Environmental Chemistry and Biology
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 1987
- Language
- Deposit record
- 4229e0fb-b010-4ede-aa50-9d4a2f0726fb
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