Acute toxicity screening of sediments utilizing Chydorus sphaericus

Book · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:500779

Campbell, M G.S. ^[1]; Crisman, T; Bitton, G; Delfino, J ^[2]

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1. Alabama A and M Univ., Normal, AL (United States). Dept. of Biology
2. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences

Out of over 165 species of organisms that have been proposed for use in toxicity bioassays only a few are invertebrates and even fewer have ever been cultured in the laboratory. Many of the invertebrates that have been applied in sediment toxicity tests are not benthic organisms and possess few characteristics of the ideal sediment bioassay organism. Some tests species have limited ecological ranges; some may not be widely available for testing and many are not easily maintained in the laboratory. In addition, some traditional sediment toxicity tests utilize organisms that spend no part or only part of their life cycle in contact with sediment constituents, and therefore lack, in some degree, ecological relevance. The study reported involved the development and evaluation of a 48-hour lethality bioassay employing the benthic cladoceran, Chydorus sphaericus. The bioassay is ecologically relevant because the test organism is ubiquitous and it lives associated with sediments in freshwater aquatic environments. The bioassay was evaluated by direct comparison with standard bioassays using sediment samples collected from hazardous waste sites in Florida.

• OSTI ID: 500779
• Report Number(s): CONF-9705100--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BENTHOS
BIOASSAY
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INVERTEBRATES
SEDIMENTS
WATER POLLUTION