Sublethal effects of sediment-asociated uranium on Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae) larvae

Titre du congrès :SETAC Europe 17th Annual Meeting Ville du congrès :Porto Date du congrès :20/05/2007

As a result of anthropogenic activities (e.g. uranium mining, scientific research,
military use of depleted uranium), uranium (U) concentration in aquatic ecosystems may be increased. Similarly to other heavy metals, sediments can represent an important storage compartment for U in freshwaters. For example, U concentrations reached values up to 450 $g/g U dry wt in sediments nearby an U mine in Spain.
Sediments provide a habitat for various benthic macroinvertebrates, which play an
important role on the structure and the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Little is
known about U effects on freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates.