Oligochaetes feed on bulk sediment and penetrate the sediment through the construction of burrows, making them especially vulnerable to sediment metal contamination. However, the few oligochaete species that have been tested to date are almost exclusively temperate test species. Although the warmwater adapted species Branchiura sowerbyi has been indicated as a promising candidate for tropical sediment toxicity testing, few (especially chronic) studies have been conducted so far to confirm this. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the bioaccumulation and chronic 28d lethal and sublethal toxicity of arsenic (As) and zinc (Zn) to both the warmwater-adapted B. sowerbyi and the coldwater-adapted oligochaete Tubifex tubifex for comparison. Arsenic was more toxic to both oligochaete species than Zn. Inter- and intra-species variability in toxicity values of the two test species and other benthic invertebrates was within an order of magnitude. However, B. sowerbyi was the most sensitive species to As even for sediment concentration (EC₅₀: 36.6 ± 2.1 µg/g and 147.1 ± 21.7 µg/g, for B. sowerbyi and T. tubifex, respectively) and for tissue concentration (ER₅₀: 9.2 ± 0.9 µg/g and 887.0 ± 35.0 µg/g, for B. sowerbyi and T. tubifex, respectively). Finally, the Tissue Residue-effects Approach (TRA) using Effective Tissue Residues appears to be a promising way forward in advancing in this since it considers internal body concentrations.

寡毛纲以大量沉积物为食，并通过建造洞穴穿透沉积物，使它们特别容易受到沉积物金属污染。然而，迄今为止测试过的少数寡毛纲物种几乎完全是温带测试物种。尽管适应温水的物种Branchiura sowerbyi已被认为是热带沉积物毒性测试的有希望的候选者，但迄今为止很少（尤其是慢性）研究证实了这一点。因此，本研究的目的是评估砷 (As) 和锌 (Zn) 对适应温水的B. sowerbyi和适应冷水的寡毛纲Tubifex tubifex的生物积累和慢性 28 天致死和亚致死毒性用于比较。砷对两种寡毛纲物种的毒性都比锌强。两个测试物种和其他底栖无脊椎动物的毒性值的物种间和物种内变异在一个数量级内。然而，B.水母是最敏感的物种，以作为即使对于底泥浓度（EC ₅₀：36.6±2.1微克/克和147.1±21.7微克/克，为B.水母和T.水丝蚓，分别地）和用于组织浓度（ ER ₅₀：9.2 ± 0.9 µg/g 和 887.0 ± 35.0 µg/g，对于B. sowerbyi和T. tubifex， 分别）。最后，使用有效组织残留物的组织残留效应方法 (TRA) 似乎是向前推进的一个有希望的方法，因为它考虑了体内浓度。