SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1988
STP10277S

Silver Transport and Impact in Estuarine and Marine Systems

Source

The transport of silver through estuarine and coastal marine systems is dependent upon biological uptake and incorporation. Uptake by phytoplankton is rapid, in proportion to silver concentration, and inversely proportional to salinity. In contrast to studies performed with other toxic metals, silver availability appears to be controlled by both the free silver ion concentration and the concentrations of other silver complexes, perhaps the ion pair AgCl. Silver incorporated by phytoplankton is not lost as salinity increases; as a result, silver associated with cellular material is largely retained within the estuary. Phytoplankton exhibit a variable sensitivity to silver. Sensitive species exhibit a marked delay in the onset of growth in response to silver at low concentrations, even though maximum growth rates are similar to controls. Sublethal effects, such as delayed growth, may not be observed during classical toxicity testing of a population; however, the effects to the community may be quite significant. A delay in the onset of growth reduces the ability of a population to respond to short-term favorable conditions and to succeed within the community, ensuring the dominance of resistant species with high initial rates of growth. Reliable assessment of the vulnerability of dynamic ecosystems requires that studies of potential pollutant impact consider geochemical and biogeochemical transformations and sublethal pressures upon community structure as well as the toxicity of the pollutant to keystone species.

Author Information

Sanders, JG
The Academy of Natural Sciences, Division of Environmental Research, Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory, Benedict, MD
Abbe, GR
The Academy of Natural Sciences, Division of Environmental Research, Benedict Estuarine Research Laboratory, Benedict, MD
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Details
Developed by Committee: E47
Pages: 5–18
DOI: 10.1520/STP10277S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5027-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-1180-6