Hazard assessment of inorganics to three endangered fish in the Green River, Utah

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
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Abstract

Acute toxicity tests were conducted with three life stages of Colorado squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius), razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), and bonytail (Gila elegans) in a reconstituted water quality simulating the middle part of the Green River of Utah. Tests were conducted with boron, lithium, selenate, selenite, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. The overall rank order of toxicity to all species and life stages combined from most to least toxic was vanadium = zinc > selenite > lithium = uranium > selenate > boron. There was no difference between the three species in their sensitivity to the seven inorganics based on a rank-order evaluation at the species level. Colorado squawfish were 2-5 times more sensitive to selenate and selenite at the swimup life stage than older stages, whereas razorback suckers displayed equal sensitivity among life stages. Bonytail exhibited equal sensitivity to selenite, but were five times more sensitive to selenate at the swimup life stage than the older stages. Comparison of 96-hr LC50 values with a limited number of environmental water concentrations in Ashley Creek, Utah, which receives irrigation drainwater, revealed moderate hazard ratios for boron, selenate, selenite, and zinc, low hazard ratios for uranium and vanadium, but unknown ratios for lithium. These inorganic contaminants in drainwaters may adversely affect endangered fish in the Green River.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Hazard assessment of inorganics to three endangered fish in the Green River, Utah
Series title Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
DOI 10.1006/eesa.1995.1017
Volume 30
Issue 2
Year Published 1995
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Columbia Environmental Research Center
Description 9 p.
First page 134
Last page 142
Country United States
State Utah
Other Geospatial Green River
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