A Sediment Quality Triad: Measures of sediment contamination, toxicity and infaunal community composition in Puget Sound

Abstract Increasing emphasis is being placed upon chemical analyses of sediments to determine the distribution and concentration of toxic chemicals in marine and aquatic environments. The resulting data are often used to characterize chemical accumulations, including delineation of ‘hotspots’. These data alone, however, provide no information regarding the possible biological significance of these accumulations. Direct biological testing is needed. the use of a Sediment Quality Triad (chemical, bioassay and infauna) of measurements is advocated here by the authors. The purpose of this study was to determine the correspondence among measures of the three components of the Triad, using available data from several studies of Puget Sound. Good overall correspondence among the three components of the Triad was observed, based upon a comparison of average values from urban and rural portions of the Sound. However, based upon comparisons of data on a station-by-station basis the chemical data alone were not always reliable indicators (and, therefore, predictors) of biological effects. Hence, the importance and usefulness of the Triad was substantiated.

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