Do sediment-bound nickel and lead affect chironomids life-history? Toxicity assessment under environmentally relevant conditions.

Metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems translates into increased concentrations of sediment-bound metals, representing a risk for benthic species. This risk might be enhanced in soft and moderately hard waters, world widely distributed, due to the protective role of hardness against metal toxicity. As lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) are amongst the more abundant metals in aquatic systems, and since their combined effects to benthic species have been overlooked, in this study we aimed to investigate the life-cycle toxicity of Pb and Ni (using spiked sediment) to the benthic species Chironomus riparius, considering both single and mixture exposures, in moderately hard water. Environmentally relevant concentrations of each metal were used (25 and 75 mg kg, based on a scenario of pollution by runoff waters from burnt forests), following a full factorial design. Effects of the mixture with the highest metal concentrations (Pb 75 mg kg dw + Ni 75 mg kg dw) were also assessed in the second generation. In the first generation, exposure to Pb increased emergence and the weight of males, and decreased time to emergence of both males and females. Conversely, exposure to Ni delayed female emergence and decreased the weight of imagoes. Summarizing, Pb affected more endpoints but showed an apparent positive effect, whereas Ni affected less endpoints but exhibited adverse effects. Reproduction was not affected by these metals. In the second generation, the mixture Pb 75 mg kg + Ni 75 mg kg dw delayed emergence and reduced the emerged female fraction and their weight. These results highlight that Pb and Ni can alter the structure of C. riparius populations at environmentally relevant concentrations, which signals potential repercussions in the dynamics and functioning of freshwater ecosystems under these contamination scenarios. The findings of the present study are relevant not only for metal-polluted environments, in general, but also for fire-affected ecosystems.