Toxicity of sediment-bound pollutants in the Seine estuary, France, using a Eurytemora affinis larval bioassay
Abstract
Coastal urbanisation exposes surrounding estuarine environments to urban-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and pesticide mixtures. Hydrophobic contaminants can adsorb on estuarine sediments. They can subsequently be released on a massive scale in the aquatic environment due to artificial or natural phenomena (e.g. dredging, tides), thereby threatening living organisms. The contamination of sediment is a significant ecological issue in the Seine estuary, France. However, few relevant methods have been developed to assess sediment toxicity and its ecological impacts in a cost-effective way. In this context, we aimed to assess the toxicity of natural sediments from the Seine estuary on the development of the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis using a previously developed larval bioassay. This assay involves direct exposure of nauplii to elutriates of sediments for six days. Sediments were collected along the Seine estuary from six polluted sites and one reference site. Pollutants in this estuary included PAHs, PCBs and OCPs (organochlorine pesticides). Nauplius survival was significantly more affected by exposure to all contaminated sediment elutriates, than by exposure to sediment from Yville-sur-Seine (the reference site), whereas nauplius growth was significantly reduced after exposure to contaminated sediment elutriates from four of the six contaminated sites. We identified two distinct site clusters, one including both the sand-rich and the least polluted sediments (Oissel, Quillebeuf-sur-Seine, Caudebec-en-Caux) and the other including both the clay- and silt-rich, and the most polluted sediments (La Bouille, Poses, Pont de Normandie). As expected, survival was significantly more impacted after exposure to elutriates from the second cluster than from the first. This work enables (i) assessment of the toxicity of natural sediments in the Seine estuary and (ii) validation of the larval bioassay previously developed using sorbed sediment with model molecules.
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BibTeX
@article{lesueur2026toxicity,
title = {{Toxicity of sediment-bound pollutants in the Seine estuary, France, using a Eurytemora affinis larval bioassay}},
author = {Teddy Lesueur and Céline Boulangé-Lecomte and Gwendal Restoux and Julien Deloffre and Benoit Xuereb and Karyn Le Ménach and Hélène Budzinski and Nathalie Petrucciani and Sabine Marie and Fabienne Petit and Joëlle Forget-Leray},
journal = {Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.11.033},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-03161952v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Toxicity of sediment-bound pollutants in the Seine estuary, France, using a Eurytemora affinis larval bioassay
AU - Teddy Lesueur
AU - Céline Boulangé-Lecomte
AU - Gwendal Restoux
AU - Julien Deloffre
AU - Benoit Xuereb
AU - Karyn Le Ménach
AU - Hélène Budzinski
AU - Nathalie Petrucciani
AU - Sabine Marie
AU - Fabienne Petit
AU - Joëlle Forget-Leray
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/16
JO - Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.11.033
UR - https://hal.science/hal-03161952v1
AB - Coastal urbanisation exposes surrounding estuarine environments to urban-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and pesticide mixtures. Hydrophobic contaminants can adsorb on estuarine sediments. They can subsequently be released on a massive scale in the aquatic environment due to artificial or natural phenomena (e.g. dredging, tides), thereby threatening living organisms. The contamination of sediment is a significant ecological issue in the Seine estuary, France. However, few relevant methods have been developed to assess sediment toxicity and its ecological impacts in a cost-effective way. In this context, we aimed to assess the toxicity of natural sediments from the Seine estuary on the development of the calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis using a previously developed larval bioassay. This assay involves direct exposure of nauplii to elutriates of sediments for six days. Sediments were collected along the Seine estuary from six polluted sites and one reference site. Pollutants in this estuary included PAHs, PCBs and OCPs (organochlorine pesticides). Nauplius survival was significantly more affected by exposure to all contaminated sediment elutriates, than by exposure to sediment from Yville-sur-Seine (the reference site), whereas nauplius growth was significantly reduced after exposure to contaminated sediment elutriates from four of the six contaminated sites. We identified two distinct site clusters, one including both the sand-rich and the least polluted sediments (Oissel, Quillebeuf-sur-Seine, Caudebec-en-Caux) and the other including both the clay- and silt-rich, and the most polluted sediments (La Bouille, Poses, Pont de Normandie). As expected, survival was significantly more impacted after exposure to elutriates from the second cluster than from the first. This work enables (i) assessment of the toxicity of natural sediments in the Seine estuary and (ii) validation of the larval bioassay previously developed using sorbed sediment with model molecules.
SN - 0147-6513
SN - 1090-2414
ER -