Site-specific environmental quality criteria for survival and growth of farmed abalone exposed to zinc

We develop a simple predictive environmental quality criteria (EQC) model for the survival and growth of farmed abalone Haliotis diversicolor supertexta exposed to waterborne zinc (Zn) based on a probabilistic internal effect concentration (IEC)-based modeling framework. We couple a first-order two-compartment bioaccumulation model and a reconstructed dose-response profile based on a three-parameter Hill equation model associated with a field bioaccumulation study to form a probabilistic model to determine acute and chronic EQC. The acute EQC (a-EQC) is predicted from IECs and a field-derived bioaccumulation factors, whereas a statistical procedure with an acute-to-chronic value is used to derive chronic EQC (c-EQC) based on bioaccumulation. Field bioaccumulation study demonstrates a linear relationship between water and tissue Zn concentrations in abalone and algae. Our model, designed for simplicity and theoretical insight, yields explicit mathematical results through a probabilistic analysis to capture EQC modeling methodology in a more realistic way by analyzing computationally through Monte Carlo simulations. Here we show that the median a-EQC ranges from 0.34-0.39 μg ml− 1, whereas the median c-EQC is 0.04-0.05 μg ml− 1 for selected abalone farms. We believe that this probabilistic EQC modeling framework is an effective method for conceptualizing a public policy decision vis-à-vis establishing a site-specific acceptable acute and chronic EQC for better management and restoration of the rapidly degrading aquacultural ecosystems.