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Kevin V Brix

Publications and source records attributed to Kevin V Brix.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Chronic toxicity of lead to three freshwater invertebrates--Brachionus calyciflorus, Chironomus tentans, and Lymnaea stagnalis.

Chronic lead (Pb) toxicity tests with Brachionus calyciflorus, Chironomus tentans, and Lymnaea stagnalis were performed in artificial freshwaters. The no-observable-effect concentration (NOEC), lowest-observable-effect concentration (LOEC), and calculated 20% effect concentration (EC20) for the rotifer B. calyciflorus were 194, 284, and 125 microg dissolved Pb/L, respectively. The midge C. tentans was less sensitive, with NOEC and LOEC of 109 and 497 microg dissolved Pb/L, respectively, and the snail L. stagnalis exhibited extreme sensitivity, evident by NOEC, LOEC, and EC20 of 12, 16, and < 4 microg dissolved Pb/L, respectively. Our findings are presented in the context of other reports on chronic Pb toxicity in freshwater organisms. The L. stagnalis results are in agreement with a previous report on pulmonate snails and should be viewed in the context of current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) hardness adjusted water quality criteria of 8 microg Pb/L. The present findings and earlier reports indicate that freshwater pulmonate snails may not be protected by current regulatory standards. Measurements of whole-snail Na+ and Ca2+ concentrations following chronic Pb exposure revealed that Na+ homeostasis is disturbed by Pb exposure in juvenile snails in a complicated pattern, suggesting two physiological modes of action depending on the Pb exposure concentration. Substantially reduced growth in the snails that exhibit very high Ca2+ requirements may be related to reduced Ca2+ uptake and thereby reduced shell formation.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Setting site-specific water-quality standards by using tissue residue thresholds and bioaccumulation data. Part 2. Calculating site-specific selenium water-quality standards for protecting fish and birds.

In a companion paper, a method for deriving tissue residue-based site-specific water-quality standards (SSWQSs) was described. In this paper, the methodology is applied to selenium (Se) as an example. Models were developed to describe Se bioaccumulation in aquatic-dependent bird eggs and whole fish. A simple log-linear model best described Se accumulation in bird eggs (r2 = 0.50). For fish, separate hockey stick regressions were developed for lentic (r2 = 0.65) and lotic environments (r2 = 0.37). The low r2 value for the lotic fish model precludes its reliable use at this time. Corresponding tissue residue criteria (i.e., tissue thresholds) for bird eggs and whole fish also were identified and example model predictions were made. The models were able to predict SSWQSs over a wide range of water-tissue combinations that might be encountered in the environment. The models also were shown to be sensitive to variability in measured tissue residues with relatively small changes in variability (as characterized by the standard error) resulting in relatively large differences in SSWQSs.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Setting site-specific water-quality standards by using tissue residue criteria and bioaccumulation data. Part 1. Methodology.

We have developed a method for determining site-specific water-quality standards (SSWQSs) for substances regulated based on tissue residues. The method uses a multisite regression model to solve for the conditional prior probability density function (PDF) on water concentration, given that tissue concentration equals a tissue residue threshold. The method then uses site-specific water and tissue concentration data to update the probabilities on a Monte Carlo sample of the prior PDF by using Bayesian Monte Carlo analysis. The resultant posterior PDF identifies the water concentration that, if met at the site, would provide a desired level of confidence of meeting the tissue residue threshold contingent on model assumptions. This allows for derivation of a SSWQS. The method is fully reproducible, statistically rigorous, and easily implemented. A useful property of the method is that the model is sensitive to the amount of site-specific data available, that is, a more conservative or protective number (water concentration) is derived when the data set is small or the variance is large. Likewise, as the site water concentration increases above the water-quality standard, more site-specific information is needed to demonstrate a safe concentration at the site. A companion paper demonstrates the method by using selenium as an example.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Derivation of a chronic site-specific water quality standard for selenium in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA.

The purpose of this study was to develop a site-specific water quality standard for selenium in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. The study examined the bioavailability and toxicity of selenium, as selenate, to biota resident to the Great Salt Lake and the potential for dietary selenium exposure to aquatic dependent birds that might consume resident biota. Because of its high salinity, the lake has limited biological diversity with bacteria, algae, diatoms, brine shrimp, and brine flies being the only organisms present in the main (hypersaline) portions of the lake. To evaluate their sensitivity to selenium, a series of acute and chronic toxicity studies were conducted on brine shrimp (Artemia franiciscana), brine fly (Ephydra cinerea), and a hypersaline alga (Dunaliella viridis). The resulting acute and chronic toxicity data indicated that resident species are more selenium tolerant than many freshwater species. Because sulfate is known to reduce selenate bioavailability, this selenium tolerance is thought to result in part from the lake's high ambient sulfate concentrations (>5,800 mg/L). The acute and chronic test results were compared to selenium concentrations expected to occur in a mining effluent discharge located at the south end of the lake. Based on these comparisons, no appreciable risks to resident aquatic biota were projected. Field and laboratory data collected on selenium bioaccumulation in brine shrimp demonstrated a linear relationship between water and tissue selenium concentrations. Applying a dietary selenium threshold of 5 mg/kg dry weight for aquatic birds to this relationship resulted in an estimate of 27 microg/L Se in water as a safe concentration for this exposure pathway and an appropriate chronic site-specific water quality standard. Consequently, protection of aquatic birds represents the driving factor in determining a site-specific water quality standard for selenium.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Acute and chronic toxicity of nickel to a cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia dubia) and an amphipod (Hyalella azteca).

This study evaluated acute and chronic nickel (Ni) toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia and Hyalella azteca with the objective of generating information for the development of a biotic ligand model for Ni. Testing with C. dubia was used to evaluate the effect of ambient hardness on Ni toxicity, whereas the larger H. azteca was used to derive lethal body burden information for Ni toxicity. As was expected, acute C. dubia median lethal concentrations (LC50s) for Ni increased with increasing water hardness. The 48-h LC50s were 81, 148, 261, and 400 microg/L at hardnesses of 50, 113, 161, and 253 mg/L (as CaCO3), respectively. Ceriodaphnia dubia was found to be significantly more sensitive in chronic exposures than other species tested (including other daphnids such as Daphnia magna); chronic toxicity was less dependent on hardness than was acute toxicity. Chronic 20% effective concentrations (EC20s) were estimated at <3.8, 4.7, 4.0, and 6.9 microg/L at hardnesses of 50, 113, 161, and 253 mg/L, respectively. Testing with H. azteca resulted in a 96-h LC50 of 3,045 microg/L and a 14-d EC20 of 61 microg/L at a hardness of 98 mg/L (as CaCO3). Survival was more sensitive than was growth in the chronic study with H. azteca. The 20% lethal accumulation effect level based on measured Ni body burdens was 247 nmol/g wet weight.

Amphipoda↗
PubMed2004

Acute and chronic toxicity of nickel to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Of the fish species tested in chronic Ni exposures, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is the most sensitive. To develop additional Ni toxicity data and to investigate the toxic mode of action for Ni, we conducted acute (96-h) and chronic (85-d early life-stage) flow-through studies using rainbow trout. In addition to standard toxicological endpoints, we investigated the effects of Ni on ionoregulatory physiology (Na, Ca, and Mg). The acute median lethal concentration for Ni was 20.8 mg/L, and the 24-h gill median lethal accumulation was 666 nmol/g wet weight. No effects on plasma Ca, Mg, or Na were observed during acute exposure. In the chronic study, no significant effects on embryo survival, swim-up, hatching, or fingerling survival or growth were observed at dissolved Ni concentrations up to 466 microg/L, the highest concentration tested. This concentration is considerably higher than the only other reported chronic no-observed-effect concentration (<33 microg/L) for rainbow trout. Accumulation of Ni in trout eggs indicates the chorion is only a partial barrier with 36%, 63%, and 1% of total accumulated Ni associated with the chorion, yolk, and embryo, respectively. Whole-egg ion concentrations were reduced by Ni exposure. However, most of this reduction occurred in the chorion rather than in the embryos, and no effects on hatching success or larval survival were observed as a result. Plasma ion concentrations measured in swim-up fingerlings at the end of the chronic-exposure period were not significantly reduced by exposure to Ni. Nickel accumulated on the gill in an exponential manner but plateaued in trout plasma at waterborne Ni concentrations of 118 microg/L or greater. Consistent with previous studies, Ni did not appear to disrupt ionoregulation in acute exposures of rainbow trout. Our results also suggest that Ni is not an ionoregulatory toxicant in long-term exposures, but the lack of effects in the highest Ni treatment precludes a definitive conclusion.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Chronic toxicity of arsenic to the Great Salt Lake brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana.

We determined the chronic toxicity of arsenic (sodium arsenate) to the Great Salt Lake brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana. Chronic toxicity was determined by measuring the adverse effects of arsenic on brine shrimp growth, survival, and reproduction under intermittent flow-through conditions. The study commenced with <24-h-old nauplii, continued through reproduction of the parental generation, and ended after 28 days of exposure. The concentrations tested were 4, 8, 15, 31, and 56mg/L dissolved arsenic. The test was conducted using water from the Great Salt Lake, Utah as the dilution water. Adult survival was the most sensitive biological endpoint, with growth and reproduction somewhat less sensitive than survival. The no observed effect concentration (NOEC) for survival was 8mg/L, and the lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) was 15mg/L dissolved arsenic. The LOEC for growth and reproduction was greater than the highest concentration tested, 56mg/L. Based on survival, the final chronic value (geometric mean of the NOEC and LOEC) was 11mg/L dissolved arsenic. The F(1) generation appeared to acclimate to the prior arsenic exposure of the parental generation and was significantly less sensitive than the parental generation. For example, survival for the F(1) generation through day 12 was 100% in 56mg/L dissolved arsenic, compared to 26% for the parental generation. Growth of the F(1) generation was significantly less than that of the parental generation across all concentrations including the control, indicating a generational difference in brine shrimp growth rather than an arsenic effect. This study represents one of the few full life cycle toxicity tests conducted with brine shrimp.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Inverse relationship between bioconcentration factor and exposure concentration for metals: implications for hazard assessment of metals in the aquatic environment.

The bioconcentration factor (BCF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF) are used as the criteria for bioaccumulation in the context of identifying and classifying substances that are hazardous to the aquatic environment. The BCF/BAF criteria, while developed as surrogates for chronic toxicity and/or biomagnification of anthropogenic organic substances, are applied to all substances including metals. This work examines the theoretical and experimental basis for the use of BCF/BAF in the hazard assessment of Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Ag. As well, BCF/BAFs for Hg (methyl and inorganic forms) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were evaluated. The BCF/BAF data for Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Ag were characterized by extreme variability in mean BCF/BAF values and a clear inverse relationship between BCF/BAF and aqueous exposure. The high variability persisted when even when data were limited to an exposure range where chronic toxicity would be expected. Mean BCF/BAF values for Hg were also variable, but the inverse relationship was equivocal, in contrast with HCB, which conformed to the BCF model. This study illustrates that the BCF/BAF criteria, as currently applied, are inappropriate for the hazard identification and classification of metals. Furthermore, using BCF and BAF data leads to conclusions that are inconsistent with the toxicological data, as values are highest (indicating hazard) at low exposure concentrations and are lowest (indicating no hazard) at high exposure concentrations, where impacts are likely. Bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factors do not distinguish between essential mineral nutrient, normal background metal bioaccumulation, the adaptive capabilities of animals to vary uptake and elimination within the spectrum of exposure regimes, nor the specific ability to sequester, detoxify, and store internalized metal from metal uptake that results in adverse effect. An alternative to BCF, the accumulation factor (ACF), for metals was assessed and, while providing an improvement, it did not provide a complete solution. A bioaccumulation criterion for the hazard identification of metals is required, and work directed at linking chronic toxicity and bioaccumulation may provide some solutions.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2003

Analysis of field and laboratory data to derive selenium toxicity thresholds for birds.

In this paper, we critically evaluate the statistical approaches and datasets previously used to derive chronic egg selenium thresholds for mallard ducks (laboratory data) and black-necked stilts (field data). These effect concentration thresholds of 3%, 10% (EC10), or 20% have been used by regulatory agencies to set avian protection criteria and site remediation goals, thus the need for careful assessment of the data. The present review indicates that the stilt field dataset used to establish a frequently cited chronic avian egg selenium threshold of 6 mg/kg dry weight lacks statistical robustness (r2 = 0.19-0.28 based on generalized linear models), suggesting that stilt embryo sensitivity to selenium is highly variable or that factors other than selenium are principally responsible for the increase in effects observed at the lower range of this dataset. Hockey stick regressions used with the stilt field dataset improve the statistical relationship (r2 = 0.90-0.97) but result in considerably higher egg selenium thresholds (EC10 = 21-31 mg/kg dry wt). Laboratory-derived (for mallards) and field-derived (for stilts) teratogenicity EC10 values are quite similar (16-24 mg/kg dry wt). Laboratory data regarding mallard egg inviability and duckling mortality data provide the most sensitive and statistically robust chronic threshold (EC10) with logit, probit, and hockey stick regressions fitted to laboratory data, resulting in mean egg selenium EC10 values of 12 to 15 mg/kg dry weight (r2 = 0.75-0.90).

Animals↗