Use of bioassay-based whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests to predict benthic community response to a complex industrial effluent

Whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests are a usefulmonitoring tool because they provide a rapid andreplicable measure of the potential ecotoxicologicaleffect of effluents. Although WET tests have beenincorporated into toxicity-based effluent limits toprotect receiving systems from adverse effects, fewstudies have attempted to quantitativelyfield-validate laboratory-derived toxicity thresholds.In this study, we examine the ability of WET tests topredict response thresholds of an invertebratecommunity to a paper mill effluent discharged into theNicolet-SW River, Québec, Canada. We quantifiedinvertebrate community structure and density in theriver and detrended for the effects ofphysical/chemical variables. This allowed examinationof direct correlation between invertebrate communitystructure and effluent concentration. There was asignificant decrease in taxonomic richness at aneffluent concentration of 16%, but significantchanges in the density of invertebrates occurredbetween 0% and 2% effluent. This suggests thatalthough most taxa returned to the river downstream ofthe effluent, they did so at lower densities.Calculated field thresholds were compared tolaboratory thresholds for the effluent using chronicWET tests with algae, cladocerans and fish. The WETtests produced a mean MATC of 3.6%. Thus, standardWET tests overestimated response thresholds of theinvertebrate community in the receiving environmentand impacts were observed in areas where no impact wasexpected.