Comparison of different ecotoxicological batteries with WOE approach for the environmental quality evaluation of harbour sediments

Highlights: • Ecotoxicological integration provide the status of chemical bioavailability. • Comparability of bioassays batteries confirms a higher sensibility of sea urchin. • Choice of 2° battery species doesn't real influence the ecotoxicological status. • Multidisciplinary WOE model provides the marine environmental quality assessment. This study was conducted under the Italian Ministerial Decree D.M. 173/2016 which regulates the assessment of the Sediment Class Quality in Italy using ecotoxicological bioassay and chemical analysis (Weight-Of-Evidence model). The aim of this work was to evaluate the real classification obtained by the theoretically equivalent responses of nine different combinations of batteries based on six different species: Aliivibrio fischeri (inhibition of bioluminescence), Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Skeletonema costatum, Dunaliella tertiolecta (inhibition of algal growth), Paracentrotus lividus and Crassostrea gigas (embryotoxicity). Bioassays, in many cases, showed a non-bioavailability effect of the pollutants; these one highly revealed by the chemical analyses. Algal species showed responses very similar from each other. Otherwise, species used for embryotoxicity produced wide responses, consequently modifying the quality class of sediments and the handling management (i.e. landfill confinement or beach nourishment) allowed by the Law.