Salinity Dependence of Vanadium Toxicity against the Brackish Water Hydroid Cordylophora caspia

Vanadium, an abundant metal, enters the environment through natural rock weathering or by combustion of oil products. A third pathway is the leaching of vanadium-rich building materials. Stones made from steel industry residual slags, so-called slag stones, contain rather large amounts of vanadium. The increasing use of these slag stones in riverbank reinforcement has therefore led to increased interest in the toxicity of vanadium to aquatic organisms. The aim of the study was to determine the toxicity of vanadium to the brackish water hydroid Cordylophora caspia and the effect of vanadium on the membrane-bound enzyme Na, K-ATPase at various salinities. EC50 values for population growth inhibition were determined from 1.74 to 7.96 mg L−1 vanadium, depending on salinity. The maximum inhibition of population growth by vanadium was observed at low salinities. Correspondingly, maximum Na, K-ATPase inhibition was also measured at low salinities and decreased with increasing salinity. The present study suggests that the observed inhibition of population growth of C. caspia caused by vanadium-contaminated rearing water is due to the vanadium-induced inhibition of phosphatases.