Do laboratory exposures represent field exposures? Effects of sediments contaminated by wood industry on yolk-sac fry of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Purpose. Risk assessment of contaminated sediments is routinely based on laboratory exposures. The purpose of this work was to study if sediments contaminated by the chemical wood industry cause developmental defects in fish fry and how well a laboratory exposure correlates with a field exposure. Materials and methods. Newly hatched yolk-sac fry of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed in the laboratory and in situ. In the laboratory, the fish were placed in contact with either clean or contaminated sediment in aquaria. In the field, half of the fish were placed in contact with the lake sediment and the other half were similarly caged 2 m above it, to discern the effects of the s…