Pii: S0166-445x(99)00099-5

Water hardness is known to control the uptake and toxicity of zinc and other metals through either chemical competition, biological acclimation, or both processes. The dominant process controlling zinc uptake has not been previously elucidated, nor has the effect of calcium been investigated independently of other cations. We determined zinc uptake by rainbow trout acclimated and exposed to four calcium treatments: (1) low calcium (6.5 mg Ca/l; 160 mM) acclimation and low calcium exposure (LL); (2) low acclimation and high calcium (131 mg Ca/l; 3300 mM) exposure (LH); (3) high acclimation and low exposure (HL); and (4) high acclimation and high exposure (HH). Trout were exposed to sublethal zinc (100 mg Zn/l; 1.5 mM) for 24 h, and whole body and gill Zn levels were determined. Zinc uptake was approximately linear during the 24 h exposure period and uptake was calcium dependent. Zn uptake by trout was 22 mg/kg per h in the LL treatment and 4.5 mg/kg per h in the HH treatment. Zn uptake by trout in the LH and HL treatments was 13 and 10 mg/kg per h, respectively. Zn uptake in gills was also significantly reduced by calcium acclimation or exposure. Trout in the LH and HH treatments had five fold lower Zn concentrations than LL treatment fish. The results of this study demonstrate that calcium reduces zinc uptake through both biological acclimation and chemical processes, and that the protective effects of calcium are approximately additive. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.