BIOSCROBE · Biodynamic modelling of compartmentalised bioaccumulation of toxic metals by the clam Scrobicularia plana in European estuaries

The central objective of this project is to provide a scientific basis for the prediction of the ecotoxicity of toxic metals to local biodiversity in sediments of European estuaries subject to anthropogenic contamination. Measurements of accumulated metal concentrations in sediment-ingesting infaunal invertebrates can provide evidence on local sediment bioavailabilities of toxic metals, but such total body concentrations are not directly related to the predictive onset of ecotoxicological effects (Luoma and Rainbow, 2008) and cannot be used as such in risk assessments. Ecotoxicity, however, is related to the increased rate of accumulation of metal in a form that is entering the body faster than it can be detoxified or excreted (Rainbow 2002, 2007