Comparison of Alternative Models for Predicting the Uptake of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons by Oligochaetes

The uptake of chlorinated hydrocarbons from contaminated sediments by oligochaetes was analyzed using three alternative models. Uptake appears to be best explained using a model that explicates the relationship of oligochaete body burden as a function of weight-dependent feeding rates, fractional absorption, and exposure times. The model explains observed variations in body burdens with oligochaete weights. Oligochaetes appear to absorb small fractions of ingested hydrocarbons. Fractional absorption of ingested contaminants appears to have a parabolic relationship with octanol-water partition coefficients and may decrease over time.