Bioaccumulation and effects of cadmium and zinc in a Lake Michigan plankton community

We conducted four in situ experiments in the southern basin of Lake Michigan to determine the responses of the plankton community to additions of cadmium (3 μg/L) and zinc (15, 30, 60, and 90 μg/L) as well as the bioaccumulation of zinc by different species of crustacean zooplankton. Total cadmium and zinc concentrations in treated enclosures (accounting for pretreatment lakewater concentrations of ~ 20 ng Cd and ~ 1 μg Zn per litre) were calculated from measurements of 109Cd and 65Zn with known specific activities.Zinc significantly reduced zooplankton populations and several other properties of community structure and function at concentrations much lower than those previously reported to be toxic to zooplankton and well below the levels established for protection of freshwater life. Zinc additions as low as 15 μg/L significantly reduced chlorophyll a, primary productivity, dissolved oxygen, specific zooplankton populations, zooplankton species diversity, and community similarity within 2 wk. Population...