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Selenate reduction and adsorption in littoral sediments from a hypersaline California lake, the Salton Sea

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Abstract

The Salton Sea, a hypersaline lake located in Southern California, is a major habitat for migratory waterfowl, including endangered species, recently threatened by selenium toxicity. Selenium is both an essential micronutrient and a contaminant and its speciation and cycling are driven by microbial activity. In the absence of oxygen, microorganisms can couple the oxidation of organic matter with the reduction of soluble selenate and selenite to elemental selenium. In order to better understand and quantify selenium cycling and selenium transfer between water and underlying sediments in the Salton Sea, we measured the maximum potential selenate reduction rates (R max) and selenate adsorption isotherms in sediments collected from seven littoral locations in July 2011. We also measured salinity, organic carbon, nitrogen, and elemental selenium content and the abundance of selenate-reducing prokaryotes at each site. Our results showed a high potential for selenate reduction and limited selenate adsorption in all studied sites. Maximum potential selenate reduction rates were affected by sediment Corg content. We showed that selenate reduction potential of Salton Sea sediments far outweighs current dissolved inputs to the lake. Selenate reduction is thus a likely driver for selenium removal from the lake’s water and selenate retention in littoral sediments of the Salton Sea.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Elodie Passeport for her help with data analysis and helpful discussions and Chandra Richards for her careful revision of the manuscript. The authors also wish to thank Paul Brooks for his extensive assistance with the ICP-OES, as well as William Bradford, Michelle Conklin, Kevin Tsai, Michelle Wong, José Manuel Barreiro, and Daniela Granja for their help in the field and in the lab. This study was financially supported by the Hellman Family Faculty Fund and the EPA (EPA-STAR #91727201-0).

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  1. Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Juan Fernando VillaRomero

  2. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Matteo Kausch & Céline Pallud

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  1. Juan Fernando VillaRomero
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  2. Matteo Kausch
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  3. Céline Pallud
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Correspondence to Céline Pallud.

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VillaRomero, J.F., Kausch, M. & Pallud, C. Selenate reduction and adsorption in littoral sediments from a hypersaline California lake, the Salton Sea. Hydrobiologia 709, 129–142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1443-7

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