Inorganic Monomeric Aluminum and pH as Predictors of Acidic Water Toxicity to Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

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Abstract
Inorganic monomeric aluminum concentrations were found to be the primary determinant of survival of brook trout feeding fry exposed for 21 d to various combinations of total aluminum and pH, plus several concentrations of fluoride or DOC, or several temperatures. Total aluminum concentrations in the 4 × 4 × 4 experimental matrices ranged from 3–1276 ppb, pH from 4.4–6.7, fluoride from <10–328 ppb, DOC from <1–9.2 ppm, and temperatures from 5.4–12.0 °C. Stepwise logistic regression was used to determine the significance of the effect of each water quality variable on survival. Inorganic monomeric aluminum accounted for 78–98% of the variation in survival. Except in the fluoride bioassay where pH was not significant, pH was the second-most important variable, accounting for up to 16% of the variation in survival. Fluoride or temperature accounted for 1–2% of the variation in survival, while DOC accounted for 6% of the variation in survival.