Effect of 3,4,3′,4′‐tetrachlorobiphenyl on the reworking behavior of Lumbriculus variegatus exposed to contaminated sediment

The reworking response (bioturbation) of the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus was measured by following the burial rate and spread of a 137 Cs marker layer translating worm activity into a biological burial rate (W b ) and a biological diffusion rate constant (D b ) for surficial sediment mixing. Reworking was measured at 10 and 22°C in two sediments: a reference site sediment dosed with 3,4,3',4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCBP) and a field-collected sediment from a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated site in Dicks Creek (DCC, Middletown, OH, USA). The body residue associated with response to TCBP also was determined. Reduction in the temperature from 22 to 10°C reduced both W b and D b by a factor of approximately two. The internal TCBP concentration to reduce the W b by 50% was 96 nmol/g (95% CI 45-225 nmol/g) and 124 nmol/g (40-547 nmol/g) (28 and 36 μg/ g) wet weight at 22 and 10°C, respectively, and was independent of temperature. The W b for the DCC sediment was lower than observed for the highest TCBP treatment. The internal body residue for total PCB for worms exposed to DCC sediment was 20-fold lower than TCBP in worms exposed to the lowest TCBP treatment on a molar basis. Comparing body residues of total PCB to TCBP assumes that the PCB congeners act additively on a molar basis. The DCC site contained a higher proportion of coarse material and a lower organic carbon concentration. The difference in sediment characteristics was assumed to be responsible for differences in the W b .