Using the Amphipod Hyale Nigra to Assess the Quality of Marine Sediments

Few species are standardized and have been used as test organisms around the world inecotoxicological assays. In the case of sediment assessment, there are only two amphipod species(Tiburonella viscana and Grandidierella bonnieroides) standardized protocols for toxicity test in SouthAtlantic region.In order to evaluate the possibility of using the epibenthic marine amphipod Hyale nigrain toxicity tests, a sensitivity test using spiked sediment method was applied, with cadmium chlorideas a reference toxicant (CdCl2). Tests with environmental samples were performed to validate the testorganisms. The samples were taken from Santos Estuary and Bay in state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Thehistorical toxicity and contamination are mentioned in the literature. The results obtained in the spikedsediment tests showed little variation in the sensitivity of Hyale nigra amphipod with a mean LC50 valueof 5.73 mg.L-1 (1.51 mg.L-1 – 8.75 mg.L-1). In the tests with environmental samples, the results obtainedwere similar to those found in the literature regarding this sampling area. This study demonstrates thepotential of Hyale nigra amphipod as a test organism in toxicity tests, once that the specie is sensitive andits results were similar to those reported in the literature on other species of amphipods that are alreadyused in ecotoxicological studies.