Laboratory toxicity studies and a caged bivalve field study complemented by computer modeling were conducted to investigate the significance of effects on aquatic organisms due to dietary exposure to metals.  The lab studies were performed with saltwater and freshwater organisms.

In this study:

• The saltwater and freshwater lab results supplement previously limited data characterizing chronic effects of dietary metal exposure to aquatic organisms.
• The results illustrate that the importance of dietary metal toxicity may be organism-specific and depend on the exposure conditions.
• The chronic Cu saltwater criterion protects adult Mytilus galloprovincialis from survival and growth effects in San Diego Bay.
• Modeling indicates waterborne (not dietary) Cu, supplies most excess Mytilus galloprovincialis tissue Cu when Cu exceeds the chronic saltwater criterion.