An international comparison of sediment toxicity tests in the North Sea

Abstract

Sediments were tested from 2 contamination gradients, one from an abandoned drilling site, and the other from the mouth of the Elbe northwest across the German Bight. Methods included 11 different tests (20 end-points), three species of amphipod, a polychaete, a clam, an oyster and a bacterium. Amphipod 10 d acute lethality tests and a 48 h oyster larvae abnormal development test most clearly determined gradients in toxicity that corresponded with chemical and in situ community data. -from Authors