Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecotoxicological assessment of the impact of fluoride (F−) and turbidity on the freshwater snail Physella acuta in a polluted river receiving an industrial effluent

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We carried out field studies and laboratory experiments to assess the impact of fluoride (F−) and turbidity on the freshwater snail Physella acuta in a polluted river receiving an industrial effluent (the middle Duraton River, Central Spain). Fluoride concentrations and turbidity levels significantly increased downstream from the industrial effluent (with the highest values being 0.6 mg F−/L and 55.2 nephelometric turbidity unit). In addition, higher deposition of fine inorganic matter was evident at polluted sampling sites. Conversely, the abundance of P. acuta significantly declined (until its virtual disappearance) downstream from the industrial effluent. Toxicity bioassays showed that P. acuta is a relatively tolerant invertebrate species to fluoride toxicity, with estimated safe concentrations (expressed as LC0.10 values for infinite hours of exposure) for juvenile and adult snails being 2.4 and 3.7 mg F−/L, respectively. Furthermore, juvenile snails (more sensitive than adult snails) did not show significant alterations in their behavior through 15 days of exposure to 2.6 mg F−/L: mean values of the proportion of test snails located on the water surface habitat, as well as mean values of the sliding movement rate (velocity) of test snails, never showed significant differences when comparing control and treatment glass vessels. It is concluded that instream habitat degradation, derived from increased turbidity levels, might be a major cause for significant reductions in the abundance of P. acuta downstream from the industrial effluent. The presence of the competing gastropod Ancylus fluviatilis could also affect negatively the recovery of P. acuta abundance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguirre-Sierra A, Alonso A, Camargo JA (2011) Contrasting sensitivities to fluoride toxicity between juveniles and adults of the aquatic snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 86:476–479

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Albrecht C, Kroll O, Terrazas EM, Wilke T (2009) Invasion of ancient Lake Titicaca by the globally invasive Physa acuta (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Hygrophila). Biol Inv 11:1821–1826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alonso A, Camargo JA (2012) A video-based trackling analysis to assess the chronic toxic effects of fluoride ion on the aquatic snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae, Mollusca). Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 81:70–75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • American Public Health Association (1998) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. APHA-AWWA-WPCF, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson R (2003) Physella (Costatella) acuta Draparnaud in Britain and Ireland. Its taxonomy, origins and relationships to other introduced Physidae. J Conchol 38:7–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Appleton CC (2003) Alien and invasive freshwater Gastropoda in South Africa. Afr J Aquat Sci 28:69–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benítez-Mora A, Camargo JA (2014) Ecological responses of aquatic macrophytes and benthic macroinvertebrates to dams in the Henares River Basin (Central Spain). Hydrobiologia 728:167–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benítez-Mora A, Aguirre-Sierra A, Alonso A, Camargo JA (2014) Ecotoxicological assessment of the impact of nitrate (NO3 −) on the European endangered white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius italicus (Faxon). Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 101:220–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernot RJ, Brandenburg M (2013) Freshwater snail vital rates affected by non-lethal concentrations of silver nanoparticles. Hydrobiologia 714:25–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernot RJ, Kennedy EE, Lamberti GA (2005) Effects of ionic liquids on the survival, movement, and feeding behavior of the freshwater snail, Physa acuta. Environ Toxicol Chem 24:1759–1765

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bilotta GS, Brazier RE (2008) Understanding the influence of suspended solids on water quality and aquatic biota. Water Res 42:2849–2861

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryce SA, Lomnicky GA, Kaufmann PR (2010) Protecting sediment-sensitive aquatic species in mountain streams through the application of biologically based streambed sediment criteria. J N Am Benthol Soc 29:657–672

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burch JB (1989) North American freshwater snails. Hamburg, Michigan, The University of Michigan, Malacological Publications

  • Camargo JA (2003) Fluoride toxicity to aquatic organisms: a review. Chemosphere 50:251–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JA (2004) Effects of body size and sodium chloride on the tolerance of net-spinning caddisfly larvae to fluoride toxicity. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 72:579–585

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JA, Tarazona JV (1990) Acute toxicity to freshwater macroinvertebrates of fluoride ion (F−) in soft water. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 45:883–887

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JA, Ward JV, Martin KL (1992) The relative sensitivity of competing hydropsychid species to fluoride toxicity in the Cache la Poudre River (Colorado). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 22:107–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JA, Alonso A, de la Puente M (2005) Eutrophication downstream from small reservoirs in mountain rivers of Central Spain. Water Res 39:3376–3384

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chai L, Dong S, Zhao H, Deng H, Wang H (2016) Effects of fluoride on development and growth of Rana chensinensis embryos and larvae. Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 126:129–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman JM, Proulx CI, Veilleux MAN, Levert C, Bliss S, André ME, Lapointe NWR, Cooke SJ (2014) Clear as mud: a meta-analysis on the effects of sedimentation on freshwater fish and the effectiveness of control measures. Water Res 56:190–202

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cope NJ, Winterbourn MJ (2004) Competitive interactions between two successful molluscan invaders of freshwaters: an experimental study. Aquat Ecol 38:83–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalesman S, Rundle SD, Cotton PA (2007) Predator regime influences innate anti-predator behaviour in the freshwater gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis. Freshw Biol 52:2134–2140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damkaer DM, Dey DB (1989) Evidence for fluoride effects on salmon passage at John Day dam, Columbia river, 1982-1986. N Am J Fish Manage 9:154–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon RT Jr (2000) The ecology of freshwater mollusks. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon RT Jr, Wethington AR, Rhett JM, Smith TP (2002) Populations of the European freshwater pulmonate Physa acuta are not reproductively isolated from American Physa heterostropha or Physa integra. Invert Biol 121:226–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Extence CA, Chadd RP, England J, Dunbar MJ, Wood PJ, Taylor ED (2013) The assessment of fine sediment accumulation in rivers using macro-invertebrate community response. River Res Appl 29:17–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes M, Amorim J, Vasconcelos V, Teles LO (2016) Resilience assessment of a biological early warning system based on the locomotor behavior of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:18858–18868

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalo C, Camargo JA (2013) The impact of an industrial effluent on the water quality, submersed macrophytes and benthic macroinvertebrates in a dammed river of Central Spain. Chemosphere 93:1117–1124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalo C, Camargo JA, Masiero L, Casellato S (2010) Fluoride toxicity and bioaccumulation in the invasive amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894): a laboratory study. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 85:472–475

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen LR, Roslev P (2016) Behavioral responses of juvenile Daphnia magna after exposure to glyphosate and glyphosate-copper complexes. Aquat Toxicol 179:36–43

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hauer FR, Lamberti GA (eds) (1996) Methods in stream ecology. Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellou J (2011) Behavioural ecotoxicology, an “early warning” signal to assess environmental quality. Environ Sci Pollut Res 18:1–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henley WF, Patterson MA, Neves RJ, Lemly AD (2000) Effects of sedimentation and turbidity on lotic food webs: a concise review for natural resource managers. Rev Fish Sci 8:125–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jha SK, Mishra VK, Sharma DK, Damodaran T (2011) Fluoride in the environment and its metabolism in humans. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 211:121–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JI, Murphy JF, Collins AI, Sear DA, Naden PS, Armitage PD (2012) The impact of fine sediment on macro-invertebrates. River Res Appl 28:1055–1071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lombardo P, Cooke GD (2004) Resource use and partitioning by two co-occurring freshwater gastropod species. Arch Hydrobiol 159:229–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Doval JC, Poquet M, Muñoz I (2014) Sublethal effects of the herbicide Diuron on the freshwater snail Physella acuta. Limnetica 33:205–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Maqboul A, Aoujdad R, Fadli M, Fekhaoui M (2014) Population dynamics of Physa acuta (Mollusca: Pulmonata) in the lakes of Rif mountains (northern Morocco, Ouergha watershed). J Entomol Zool Stud 2:240–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Mbaka JG, Mwaniki MW (2015) A global review of the downstream effects of small impoundments on stream habitat conditions and macroinvertebrates. Environ Rev 23:257–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metcalfe-Smith JL, Holtze KE, Sirota GR, Reid JJ, De Solla SR (2003) Toxicity of aqueous and sediment associated fluoride to freshwater organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 22:161–166

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy JF, Jones JI, Pretty JL, Duerdoth CP, Hawczak A, Arnold A, Blackburn JH, Naden PS, Old G, Sear DA, Hornby D, Clarke RT, Collins AL (2015) Development of a biotic index using stream macroinvertebrates to assess stress from deposited fine sediment. Freshw Biol 60:2019–2036

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Musee N, Oberholster PJ, Sikhwivhilu L, Botha AM (2010) The effects of engineered nanoparticles on survival, reproduction, and behavior of freshwater snail, Physa acuta (Draparnaud, 1805). Chemosphere 81:1196–1203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naden PS, Murphy JF, Old GH, Newman J, Scarlett P, Harman M, Duerdoth CP, Hawczak A, Pretty JL, Arnold A, Laizé C, Hornby DD, Collins AL, Sear DA, Jones JI (2016) Understanding the controls on deposited fine sediment in the streams of agricultural catchments. Sci Total Environ 547:366–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pauget B, Gimbert F, Coeurdassier M, Crini N, Pérès G, Faure O, Douay F, Richard A, Grand C, de Vaufleury A (2013) Assessing the in situ bioavailability of trace elements to snails using accumulation kinetics. Ecol Indic 34:126–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Payton ME, Greenstone MH, Schenker N (2003) Overlapping confidence intervals or standard error intervals: what do they mean in terms of statistical significance? J Insect Sci 3:34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn JM, Davies-Colley RJ, Hickey CW, Vickers ML, Ryan PA (1992) Effects of clay discharges on streams 2. Benthic invertebrates. Hydrobiologia 248:235–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy SLN, Venu Gopal NBRK (1990) Effect of fluoride on acetylcholinesterase activity and oxygen consumption in a freshwater field crab, Barytelphusa guerini. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 45:760–766

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy SLN, Venu Gopal NBRK, Nagender Reddy A, Ramana Rao JV (1989) Fluoride-induced changes in carbohydrate metabolism in the tissue of freshwater crab Barytelphusa guerini. Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 18:59–67

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riley LA, Dybdahl MF (2015) The roles of resource availability and competition in mediating growth rates of invasive and native freshwater snails. Freshw Biol 60:1308–1315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley LA, Dybdahl MF, Hall RO (2008) Invasive species impact: asymmetric interactions between invasive and endemic freshwater snails. J N Am Benthol Soc 27:509–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson PD (2009) Behavioral toxicity of organic chemical contaminants in fish: application to ecological risk assessments (ERAs). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 66:1179–1188

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe DK, Suren AM, Martin ML, Smith JP, Smith BJ, Williams E (2002) Lethal turbidity levels for common freshwater fish and invertebrates in Auckland streams. Auckland Regional Council Technical Publication Number 337, New Zealand

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 3rd edn. W.H. Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Soler J, Moreno D, Araujo R, Ramos MA (2006) Diversidad y distribución de los moluscos de agua dulce en la Comunidad de Madrid (España). Graellsia 62:201–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strong EE, Gargominy O, Ponder WF, Bouchet P (2008) Global diversity of gastropods (Gastropoda; Mollusca) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595:149–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suren AM, Martin ML, Smith BJ (2005) Short-term effects of high suspended sediments on six common New Zealand steam invertebrates. Hydrobiologia 548:67–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tachet H, Richoux P, Bournaud M, Usseglio-Polatera P (2003) Invertebrés d’Eau Douce (Systematique, Biologie, Écologie). CNRS Editions, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorp JH, Covich AP (eds) (2010) Ecology and classification of north American freshwater invertebrates, 3rd edn. San Diego, Academic

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner AM, Bernot RJ, Boes CM (2000) Chemical cues modify species interactions: the ecological consequences of predator avoidance by freshwater snails. Oikos 88:148–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner AM, Turner RR, Ray SR (2007) Competition and intraguild egg predation among freshwater snails: re-examining the mechanism of interspecific interactions. Oikos 116:1895–1903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (1991) Multifactor probit analysis. US EPA 600/X-91-101, Washington DC

  • Vaikasas S, Palaima K, Pliuraite V (2013) Influence of hydropower dams on the state of macroinvertebrates assemblages in the Virvyte River, Lithuania. J Environ Eng Landsc Manage 21:305–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner N, Lötters S, Veith M, Viertel B (2015) Acute toxic effects of the herbicide formulation Focus® Ultra on embryos and larvae of the Moroccan painted frog, Discoglossus scovazzi. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69:535–544

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein LH, Davison AW (2004) Fluorides in the environment: effects on plants and animals. CABI Publishing, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel RG (2001) Limnology: Lake and rivers ecosystems, 3rd edn. Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel RG, Likens GE (2000) Limnological analyses, 3rd edn. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wood PJ, Armitage PD (1997) Biological effects of fine sediment in the lotic environment. Environ Manag 21:203–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2002) Environmental health criteria 227. Fluorides. WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Zala SM (2004) Abnormal behaviors induced by chemical pollution: a review of the evidence and new challenges. Anim Behav 68:649–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zalizniak L, Kefford BJ, Nugegoda D (2009) Effects of different ionic compositions on survival and growth of Physa acuta. Aquat Ecol 43:145–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zukowski S, Walker KF (2009) Freshwater snails in competition: alien Physa acuta (Physidae) and native Glyptophysa gibbosa (Planorbidae) in the River Murray, South Australia. Mar Freshw Res 60:999–1005

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funds for this research came from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (research project CGL2011-28585). The University of Alcala provided logistical support for carrying out field studies and laboratory experiments. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Docente de Ecología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Julio A. Camargo & Álvaro Alonso

Authors
  1. Julio A. Camargo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Álvaro Alonso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julio A. Camargo.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Cinta Porte

Highlights

- The bladder snail Physella acuta appears to be a tolerant invertebrate species to fluoride toxicity.

- Estimated safe concentrations for juvenile and adult snails are 2.4 and 3.7 mg F−/L, respectively.

- Behavioral toxicity testing is used to evaluate the suitability of estimated safe concentrations.

- Instream habitat degradation, derived from increased turbidity levels, might be a major cause for the impact of the industrial effluent.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Camargo, J.A., Alonso, Á. Ecotoxicological assessment of the impact of fluoride (F−) and turbidity on the freshwater snail Physella acuta in a polluted river receiving an industrial effluent. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 15667–15677 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9208-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9208-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation