title: Metal bioavailability in freshwater sediment samples and their influence on ecological status of river basins.
abstract: The general aim of this work has been to check the ecological impact of metals on the Ebro river basin. In order to evaluate this, metal behavior considering water, sediment as well as metal bioaccumulation in fish has been studied. Total concentrations of metals, as well as the potentially bioavailable fraction of metals in sediment has also been analyzed by the application of the sequential extraction method (BCR method). In order to evaluate the influence of metal pollution on the river ecological status, according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), diverse biological indices such as macroinvertebrates (IBMWP), diatoms (IPS) and macrophytes (IVAM), have been considered from an integrated point of view. Considering both water and sediment, metals which contributed in higher extend to the reduction of biological quality have been demonstrated to be Pb and Zn, as they presented a negative influence on macroinvertebrates, diatoms and macrophytes communities. As and Cr that seemed to have a significant influence on macroinvertebrates and diatoms too, while Ni negatively influenced only diatom communities. This study also demonstrated that monitoring programs only based on total metal determination in water are inefficient, as metals present even at undetectable concentrations in water are strongly accumulated in fish. Moreover, the high concentrations of Hg found in sediments indicated that this river basin may present pollution problems regarded to this metal, as demonstrated by the high Hg levels found in fish.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Departament d'Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain; Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Neus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roig
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Departament d'Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain; Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain; Laboratori d'Edafologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.affiliation: Departamento Ecología y Gestión Costera, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (CSIC), Campus Rio San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moreno-Garrido
authors.affiliation: Departamento Ecología y Gestión Costera, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (CSIC), Campus Rio San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nieto
authors.affiliation: Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (CHE), Paseo Sagasta 24-26, 50071 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena Pérez
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.affiliation: Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Departament d'Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain; Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schuhmacher
authors.affiliation: Departamento Ecología y Gestión Costera, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (CSIC), Campus Rio San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blasco
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Biological quality; Diatoms; Macroinvertebrate; Metal bioavailability; River; Sequential extraction method