Chronological changes in toxicity of and heavy metals in sediments of two Chesapeake bay tributaries

摘要

Sediments are storage compartments for many toxicants and act as indicators o pollution. The objective of this research was to study the chronological changes in the toxicity and heavy metals concentrations in the sediments of Wicomico River (WR) and Pocomoke River (PR)-two Chesapeake Bay tributaries. The sediments were collected from four sites in both the rivers; Sediment and porewater were separated and analyzed for toxicity using the marine luminescent Bacteria-Vibrio fischeri (Microtox). The most toxic site from each river was used for studying The chronological changes in toxicity and heavy metals concentrations.