Analysis of the Ecotoxicological Conditions of Amur Bay, the Sea of Japan, by Chemical and Toxicological Characteristics

Abstract

Data on the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in bottom sediments of Amur Bay are given. The pollution of bottom sediments is especially heavy near the central part of Vladivostok City, where the concentrations of all metals, except cadmium, are in excess of their threshold level above which adverse biological effects are possible. Bioassay (2003–2014) has shown the toxicity of water for marine crustaceans in local areas within this most heavily polluted part of the bay. However, the survival rate of mysids in the surface water from the entire inner area was reliably less than that in the external part of the bay only in August and September 2003 and July 2007. In the following years, the ecotoxicological state of bay water improved, possibly because of a decrease in pollution.