Toxicity of Sewage Effluent to Antarctic Marine Invertebrates, Davis 2009/10

Two three-week toxicity tests were completed at Davis station in 2009/10 as part of STP project 3217. The dataset assesses the impact of sewage effluent on two key local invertebrate species, Paramoera walkeri and Skenella paludionoides, using standard bioassay protocols. Results provide a baseline for quantifying future changes to effluent discharge and determining safe dilution factors for the near-shore marine environment.

Use Cases

• Modeling dose-response relationships based on effluent concentration gradients from 3.125% to 68%.
• Calculating No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) and Lowest Observed Effect Concentration (LOEC) values for protective environmental guidelines.
• Establishing a toxicity baseline for future comparisons, as mentioned in the description's objective.
• Analyzing temporal mortality and behavioral responses based on observations taken on days 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, and 21.

Strengths

• Tests were conducted using two key local invertebrate species, providing ecologically relevant endpoints.
• Experiments included two controls (seawater and hyper-saline brine) and six distinct effluent concentrations for robust comparison.
• The methodology is described in detail, including sample collection from an outfall pipe and composite station tanks.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2010-03-12 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified for current applications.

Provenance

Source

AU_AADC (Australian Antarctic Data Centre)

Collection Method

Standard bioassay protocols developed under AAS #2933, with effluent collected from specific station locations.

Time Range

2009/10

Freshness

Last updated 2010-03-12 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Davis station coastal area, Antarctica