Effects of dissolved organic material on binding and toxicokinetics of pyrene in the waterflea Daphnia magna.

The binding and bioavailability of pyrene was studied in the laboratory in two humic fresh waters and in a reference water without dissolved organic material (DOM), measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The uptake of pyrene by Daphnia magna in short-term (24 h) accumulation experiments was fitted to a first-order rate-kinetic equation to calculate simultaneous uptake and elimination rates. The partition coefficients of pyrene to DOC (KDOC) were 37.1 x 103 in Pielisjoki River (9.4 mg DOC L(-1)), and 34.9 x 103 in Lake Kontiolampi (17.4 mg DOC L(-1)) waters, indicating similar binding affinities of pyrene for both humic waters. The uptake clearance of pyrene (ku) in the DOC-rich Lake Kontiolampi water was 290.4 ml g wet weight(-1) h(-1), which was lower than those in Pielisjoki River and DOC-free waters (395.8 and 346.0 ml g wet weight(-1) h(-1), respectively). Pyrene elimination (ke) was in average 0.2 h(-1) with no significant differences between the waters. The observed bioconcentration factors of pyrene in Pielisjoki River and Lake Kontiolampi waters were 84% and 46% of that in the DOC-free reference water, respectively, thus indicating that a high concentration of DOC is needed to decrease the bioavailability of waterborne pyrene to D. magna.