Influence of acclimation and exposure temperature on the acute toxicity of cadmium to the freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Hydrobiidae)

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1897/1552-8618(1994)13[1519:IOAAET]2.0.CO;2· OSTI ID:7007385

Moeller, V; Forbes, V E; Depledge, M H ^[1]

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1. Odense Univ. (Denmark). Ecotoxicology Group

Forty-eight-hour acute toxicity tests were performed to determine the influence of acclimation temperature (5, 15, and 20 C) and exposure temperature (5, 15, and 20 C) on the toxicity of cadmium to the freshwater gastropod Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Mortality varied with cadmium concentration and treatment conditions, but did not conform to conventional sigmoid concentration-response relationships. Because the shapes of the concentration-response curves were treatment dependent, a nontraditional approach for data analysis was employed. Regardless of acclimation temperature, mortality increased with increasing exposure temperature, and at all exposure temperatures snails acclimated at 15 C were most susceptible to cadmium toxicity. Estimated LC50 values were within 1 to 4 mg Cd/L. Although the shapes of the concentration-response curves were different for each treatment, the slopes were generally quite steep, indicating a uniform response for the whole population. At a given Cd concentration, acclimation temperature and exposure temperature accounted for 57 and 40%, respectively, of the variation in mortality, and LC50s changed by a factor of four. The results indicate that changes in environmental variables can alter both the degree of response and the response distribution of a population, and that past as well as prevailing environmental conditions can influence organismic responses to toxicants.

• OSTI ID: 7007385
• Journal Information: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States), Vol. 13:9; ISSN 0730-7268
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CADMIUM
TOXICITY
SNAILS
SENSITIVITY
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
WATER POLLUTION
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ELEMENTS
INVERTEBRATES
METALS
MOLLUSCS
POLLUTION
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology