Biological and physical factors affecting the body burden of organic contaminants in freshwater mussels

Abstract

Biological and physical factors affecting the body burdens of hexachlorobenzene, octachlorostyrene, and four polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) congeners in freshwater mussels from Lake St. Clair, Ontario, Canada were investigated. Specimens of Lampsilis radiata (Barnes) and the non-native Elliptio complanata (Lightfoot) were deployed for forty days at four Lake St. Clair sites, to investigate whether the water or the sediment phase represented the primary source of contaminants and to examine the effect of enclosure of the mussels on contaminant uptake. No significant differences in body burdens were detected for any of the compounds between mussels placed in corrals containing uncontaminated sand and those with natural sediment, suggesting the water phase represents the xenobiotic source. Among three enclosure types of varying restriction there were no significant differences in the body burden of each compound indicating the effect of confinement on uptake is minimal. Weak negative correlations between body burden and body length existed for all compounds, although there were no significant differences between the sexes or, with the exception of PCB congener 118, among five indigenous species.