Toxicity of copper-spiked sediments to Tubifex tubifex (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae): Comparison of the 28-day reproductive bioassay with an early-life-stage bioassay

Journal Article · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999 · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620180615· OSTI ID:6481180

Vecchi, M; Pasteris, A; Bonomi, G ^[1]; Reynoldson, T B ^[2]

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1. Univ. degli Studi di Bologna (Italy). Dipt. di Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale
2. Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario (Canada). National Water Research Inst.

Two sediment bioassay methods using Tubifex tubifex (Mueller, 1774) as the test species were compared. The first was an adult reproduction test, the second an early-life-stage survival test. The duration of both bioassays is 28 d and the amount of work required was similar; they may be useful alternatives to each other in different circumstances (e.g., the early life stage bioassay could be carried out with smaller volumes of sediment). The two bioassays were performed simultaneously on copper-spiked sediments. Sediments from two freshwater and two terrestrial sites were used; five separate, nonsimultaneous experiments were performed, one for each sediment or soil and a further experiment with soil with a good supplement. In the adult bioassay, there were large differences in the production of cocoons, eggs, and young among the control treatments of the five experiments. There were also major differences in the NOEC and LOEC for copper between the tested substrates. The early life stage bioassay appears to be less sensitive to copper toxicity than the adult reproductive bioassay since NOECs and LOECs are higher for early survival than for the most sensitive endpoints of the adult bioassay in three experiments out of five.

• OSTI ID: 6481180
• Journal Information: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 18:6; ISSN 0730-7268
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
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AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOASSAY
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
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