Behavioral avoidance of a metals mixture by rainbow trout and brown trout
- Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
- National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center, Jackson, WY (United States)
- National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center, Columbia, MO (United States)
Behavioral avoidance responses by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) were determined in the laboratory to predict the effect of mixtures of copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc on the spatial distribution of fishes in the Clark fork River (CFR), Montana. The typical ambient concentration of these metals (in {micro}g/l) in the CFR was 12 Cu, 1.1 Cd, 3.2 Pb, and 50 Zn. Laboratory tests were conducted in an opposing-flow avoidance chamber using metals concentrations ranging from 10% to 1,000% of this CFR ambient concentration. Rainbow trout avoided all metals concentrations tested from 10% to 1,000% of ambient. Brown trout failed to avoid the 10% metals concentration but did avoid all concentrations higher than 50%. In a further experiment, both species were acclimated to pH 8.0 water and avoided all changes in acidity. However, the avoidance of metals was not altered by acidity additions in brown trout and only slightly altered in rainbow trout. In all experiments, brown trout were less sensitive than rainbow trout, which was consistent with observed species distributions within the river. Behavior avoidance of this metals mixture by rainbow and brown trout in the laboratory indicates metals may have contributed to reduced abundance and altered distribution of salmonids in the CFR.
- OSTI ID:
- 85961
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9534%%32
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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