Inter- and intra-species variation in acute zinc tolerance of field-collected cladoceran populations

Extrapolating Metal (Cu, Ni, Zn) Toxicity from Individuals to Populations Across Daphnia Species Using Mechanistic Models: The Roles of Uncertainty Propagation and Combined Physiological Modes of Action

Mechanistic effect modeling is a promising tool to improve the ecological realism of environmental risk assessment. An open question for the mechanistic modeling of metal toxicity is whether the same physiological mode of action (PMoA) could be assumed for closely related species. The implications of various modeling choices, such as the use of parameter point estimates and assumption of simplistic toxicodynamic models, are largely unexplored. We conducted life-table experiments with Daphnia longispina, Daphnia magna, and Daphnia pulex exposed to the single metals Cu, Ni, and Zn, and calibrated toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic (TKTD) models based on dynamic energy budget theory. We developed TKTD models with single and combined PMoAs to compare their goodness-of-fit and predicted population-level sensitivity. We identified the PMoA reproduction efficiency as most probable in all species for Ni and Zn, but not for Cu, and found that combined-PMoA models predicted higher population-level sensitivity than single-PMoA models, which was related to the predicted individual-level sensitivity, rather than to mechanistic differences between models. Using point estimates of parameters, instead of sampling from the probability distributions of parameters, could also lead to differences in the predicted population-level sensitivity. According to model predictions, apical chronic endpoints (cumulative reproduction, survival) are conservative for single-metal population effects across metals and species. We conclude that the assumption of an identical PMoA for different species of Daphnia could be justified for Ni and Zn, but not for Cu. Single-PMoA models are more appropriate than combined-PMoA models from a model selection perspective, but propagation of the associated uncertainty should be considered. More accurate predictions of effects at low concentrations may nevertheless motivate the use of combined-PMoA models. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:338-358. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Toxicant Responses and Culturing Characteristics of Long-Term Laboratory-Reared and Field Populations of Ceriodaphnia dubia

Ceriodaphnia dubia is a standardized test organism for regulatory toxicity testing of surface waters and commercial chemicals because of its simplicity to culture and responsiveness to toxicants. For testing convenience, C. dubia is often cultured for extended periods in the laboratory with little knowledge of the impact on subsequent generations. Extended laboratory rearing could impact how they respond to stressors and decrease the accuracy of test results. The present study investigated if C. dubia cultured for an extended period were representative of three recently collected field populations by comparing their culturing characteristics and sensitivities to toxicants. For culturing characteristics, the field cultures were more challenging because they had shorter body lengths, fewer neonates, and higher mortality rates than the laboratory culture. Comparative chronic toxicity tests with sodium chloride and the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam indicated that the laboratory and field organisms did not differ much in their toxicological responses but did differ in the variability of responses (percentage of coefficient of variation). The differences between the laboratory and field cultures found in the present study highlight the challenges of addressing discrepancies between laboratory and field applications in existing standardized methodologies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:159-169. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Direct and Delayed Mortality of Ceriodaphnia dubia and Rainbow Trout Following Time-Varying Acute Exposures to Zinc

The potential for delayed mortality following short-term episodic pollution events was evaluated by exposing cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia dubia) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to zinc (Zn) in various 1- to 48-h and 1- to 96-h exposures, respectively, followed by transferring the exposed organisms to clean water for up to 47 h for C. dubia and up to 95 h for trout for additional observation. For C. dubia, 1-h exposures of up to 3790 µg Zn/L never resulted in mortality during the actual Zn exposures, but by 48 h, a 1-h exposure to 114 µg/L, a concentration similar to the present US national water quality acute criterion for the test water conditions, ultimately killed 70% of C. dubia. With C. dubia, the speed of action of Zn toxicity was faster for intermediate concentrations than for the highest concentrations tested. For rainbow trout, pronounced delayed mortalities by 96 h only occurred following ≥8-h exposures. For both species, ultimate mortalities from Zn exposures ≤8 h mostly presented as delayed mortalities, whereas for exposures ≥24 h, almost all ultimate mortalities presented during the actual exposure periods. With Zn, risks of delayed mortality following exposures to all concentrations tested were much greater for the more sensitive, small-bodied invertebrate (C. dubia) than for the less sensitive, larger-bodied fish (rainbow trout). These results, along with previous studies, show that delayed mortality is an important consideration in evaluating risks to aquatic organisms from brief, episodic exposures to some substances. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2484-2498. © 2021 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Differences in Bifenthrin and Fipronil Susceptibility Among Invasive Latrodectus spp. (Araneae: Theridiidae) and Nontarget Spiders in Japan

Prompt responses to invasive Latrodectus spiders introduced unintentionally are needed worldwide due to their medical and ecological importance. Latrodectus species are chemically controlled using pyrethroid insecticides despite concerns about the ecological impacts of these compounds on biodiversity/ecosystems. Here, the relative sensitivities (acute toxicity: 48-h LC50) of Latrodectus hasseltii Thorell and Latrodectus geometricus C.L. Koch from Japan to the conventional neurotoxic insecticide bifenthrin (pyrethroid) and a new candidate insecticide, fipronil (phenylpyrazole), were examined. Acute residual toxicity tests of these compounds in two nontarget spiders (Parasteatoda tepidariorum C.L. Koch (Araneae: Theridiidae), Badumna insignis L. Koch (Araneae: Desidae)) were conducted for comparison. To test whether bifenthrin and fipronil toxicities differed among the four spiders, corresponding species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were compared, and hazardous concentrations were determined. Sensitivity (especially in the nontarget species) was two to four orders of magnitude higher for bifenthrin than for fipronil. The SSD patterns of the two insecticides differed significantly, with the spider communities being more sensitive to bifenthrin than to fipronil. The lethal bifenthrin concentration for Latrodectus may reduce spider populations by over 70-90%. If L. hasseltii (established throughout Japan) is targeted for effective population suppression rather than L. geometricus (with a limited distribution range) using the specified insecticide concentration (LC50 value) for fipronil, less than 20% of spider communities will be impacted. Chemical operations aimed at the effective population management and subsequent eradication of invasive Latrodectus spiders while supporting local biodiversity conservation would benefit from considerations of fipronil dosages and target species sensitivities.

Comparative study of the sensitivity of Daphnia galeata and Daphnia magna to heavy metals

Daphnia galeata and Daphnia magna belong to the family Daphniidae. Daphnia galeata has a smaller body size and longer helmet than D. magna. Although D. galeata is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, it is not as commonly used in aquatic ecotoxicity tests as D. magna. There have been only few ecotoxicological studies on the toxicity of heavy metals, organic matter, and nanomaterials in D. galeata. Thus, there is a need to discover new test species and expand the number of currently known test species to elucidate species sensitivity to aquatic pollutants. We carried out a comparative study on the sensitivity of D. magna (which represents the test water flea species) and D. galeata to heavy metal toxicity. The acute toxicity values (EC50 and LC50) of 11 heavy metal species, including silver (Ag⁺), arsenite (As³⁺), cadmium (Cd²⁺), chromate (Cr⁶⁺), cupric (Cu²⁺), ferrous (Fe²⁺), mercury (Hg²⁺), manganese (Mn²⁺), nickel (Ni²⁺), lead (Pb²⁺), and zinc (Zn²⁺), in D. galeata and D. magna were compared by conducting acute toxicity assays and comparing the data with the available data. The age of the tested Daphnia individuals and the type of exposure medium were considered for more reliable comparison of species sensitivity. We observed that D. galeata was more sensitive to Ag⁺, As³⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Fe²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Pb²⁺ than D. magna. The sensitivity to Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Zn²⁺ was similar for D. magna and D. galeata. This study presents important aquatic toxicity and sensitivity data on D. galeata, which is not a widely used species in aquatic ecotoxicology studies. Our results recommend D. galeata as a suitable species for aquatic ecotoxicity tests because of its higher sensitivity.

Combined effects of interspecies interaction, temperature, and zinc on Daphnia longispina population dynamics

Under natural conditions, organisms can experience a variety of abiotic (e.g., temperature, pH) and biotic (e.g., species interactions) factors, which can interact with toxicant effects. By ignoring species interactions conventional ecotoxicological studies (i.e., single-species tests) oversimplify the actual field situation. We investigated whether temperature and interspecific competition affected the effects of zinc (Zn) on a Daphnia longispina population. The D. longispina populations were exposed in a full factorial design to 3 different Zn treatments (background, 29, and 110 μg Zn/L), 2 different temperature regimes (cold, 17-18 °C; warm, 21-22 °C), and 2 interspecific competition levels (no interspecific Brachionus competition = no Brachionus calyciflorus added; interspecific Brachionus competition = B. calyciflorus added). Interspecific Brachionus competition and temperature by itself had a limited effect on the Daphnia abundance but significantly interacted with the highest Zn concentration. Without Brachionus competition the D. longispina juvenile and adult abundances under warm conditions were up to 5.5 and 21 times lower, respectively, in the high Zn treatment in comparison with the Zn control, whereas under cold conditions no significant Zn effect was observed. However, with Brachionus competition the highest Zn treatment was on average 2.2 times less toxic to the D. longispina juvenile abundance at higher temperatures. Under cold conditions the highest Zn treatment affected the juvenile abundance sooner and up to 9 times more negatively when simultaneously faced with Brachionus competition. It is possible that the competition for food reduced the amount of energy that could be used by D. longispina for reproduction, and the metabolic costs increased as a result of Zn stress. The present study clearly illustrated the influence of temperature and competition on the effects of a chemical stressor. Thus, not considering such factors in ecological risk assessment may underestimate or overestimate risks in aquatic ecosystems when extrapolating data from standard single-species tests to the field. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1668-1678. © 2018 SETAC.

A novel method for preventing surface film entrapment of water fleas and its application for toxicity testing with heavy metals

Some water fleas such as Daphnia galeata and Bosmina longirostris are difficult to culture and use in ecotoxicity testing since they can easily become entrapped at the surface film. Cetyl alcohol was the most prevalent chemical used to prevent the entrapment of water fleas in previous studies. However, cetyl alcohol possesses a number of disadvantages including its toxicity and water insolubility. This study presents a novel method for preventing surface film entrapment of the water flea D. galeata and B. longirostris acute testing. We examined the applicability of saponin extracts from Quillaja saponaria, natural surfactants commonly extracted from plants. Its application of saponin extracts was tested by ecotoxicity testing of heavy metals. Based on the acute test results for heavy metals, a concentration of 1.0 mg/L of saponins was determined as suitable for preventing surface film entrapment of D. galeata and B. longirostris with negligible adverse effects. This study proposes a novel method for preventing surface film entrapment of D. galeata and B. longirostris through the application saponins and could be valuable to make them suitable test species in ecotoxicity testing.

The effects of zinc on the structure and functioning of a freshwater community: A microcosm experiment

A major problem with risk assessment of chemicals is the extrapolation of laboratory single-species toxicity tests, which oversimplify the actual field situation by ignoring species interactions, to natural communities. The authors tested if the bioavailability-normalized 5% hazardous concentration (HC5) estimated from chronic planktonic single-species toxicity data (HC5_plankton ) for zinc (Zn) is protective for a plankton community and investigated the direct and indirect effects of Zn (at HC5 and HC50) on a freshwater community's structure and function. Microcosms were exposed to 3 different Zn concentrations (background, HC5_plankton  = 75 μg Zn/L and HC50_plankton  = 300 μg Zn/L) for 5 wk. The planktonic groups revealed a consistent no-observed-effect concentration for the community of 75 μg Zn/L, similar to or higher than the HC5_plankton , thus suggesting its protectiveness in the present study. At 300 μg Zn/L a significant reduction in cladocerans resulted in increases of rotifer, ciliate, and phytoplankton abundance. In addition, the phytoplankton community shifted in dominance from grazing-resistant to edible species. Contrary to the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) prediction, which identified phytoplankton as the most sensitive group, only the total chlorophyll and the abundance of 2 phytoplankton species were adversely affected at 300 μg Zn/L. Thus, although the HC5 estimated from the bioavailability-normalized SSD was overall protective for the plankton community, the SSD was not able to correctly predict the species sensitivity ranking within their community context at the HC50. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2698-2712. © 2016 SETAC.

Different acute toxicity of fipronil baits on invasive Linepithema humile supercolonies and some non-target ground arthropods

Fipronil is one of the most effective insecticides to control the invasive ant Linepithema humile, but its effectiveness has been assessed without considering the genetic differences among L. humile supercolonies. We hypothesized that the susceptibility of the ant to fipronil might differ among supercolonies. If so, dosage and concentration of fipronil may need to be adjusted for effective eradication of each supercolony. The relative sensitivities of four L. humile supercolonies established in Hyogo (Japan) to fipronil baits were examined based on their acute toxicity (48-h LC(50)). Toxicities of fipronil to seven ground arthropods, including four native ant species, one native isopoda, and two cockroaches were also determined and compared to that of L. humile supercolonies using species sensitivity distributions. Marked differences in susceptibility of fipronil were apparent among the supercolonies (P < 0.008), with the 'Japanese main supercolony' (271 μg L(-1)) being five to ten times more sensitive to fipronil than other colonies (1183-2782 μg L(-1)). Toxicities to non-target species (330-2327 μg L(-1)) were in the same range as that of L. humile, and SSDs between the two species groups were not significantly different (t = -1.389, P = 0.180), suggesting that fipronil's insecticidal activity is practically the same for L. humile as for non-target arthropods. Therefore, if the invasive ant is to be controlled using fipronil, this would also affect the local arthropod biodiversity. Only the 'Japanese main supercolony' can be controlled with appropriate bait dosages of fipronil that would have little impact on the other species.

Experimental evolution reveals high insecticide tolerance in Daphnia inhabiting farmland ponds

Exposure of nontarget populations to agricultural chemicals is an important aspect of global change. We quantified the capacity of natural Daphnia magna populations to locally adapt to insecticide exposure through a selection experiment involving carbaryl exposure and a control. Carbaryl tolerance after selection under carbaryl exposure did not increase significantly compared to the tolerance of the original field populations. However, there was evolution of a decreased tolerance in the control experimental populations compared to the original field populations. The magnitude of this decrease was positively correlated with land use intensity in the neighbourhood of the ponds from which the original populations were sampled. The genetic change in carbaryl tolerance in the control rather than in the carbaryl treatment suggests widespread selection for insecticide tolerance in the field associated with land use intensity and suggests that this evolution comes at a cost. Our data suggest a strong impact of current agricultural land use on nontarget natural Daphnia populations.

Inter- and intraspecies chemical sensitivity: a case study using 2,4-dinitroanisole

Insensitive munitions offer increased safety because of their "insensitivity" to unintended detonation relative to historically used formulations such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Dinitroanisole (DNAN) is an insensitive munition constituent, and its solubility and stability warrant investigations of potential toxicological hazard related to manufacturing discharges and training ranges. Although ecotoxicology data are available for other insensitive munition constituents, few data are available for DNAN. In the present study, acute and chronic exposures of a fish (Pimephales promelas) and 2 cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia dubia, Daphnia pulex) were conducted. The 50% lethal concentration (LC50) values of DNAN ranged from 14.2 mg/L to 42.0 mg/L, depending on species. In chronic exposures, fish survival (LC50 = 10.0 mg/L) was more sensitive than cladoceran survival (LC50 = 13.7 to >24.2 mg/L). However, cladoceran reproduction was equally or more sensitive to DNAN (50% inhibition values 2.7-10.6 mg/L, depending on species) than fish endpoints. Daphnia pulex was the most sensitive species, with only slight differences between the 3 populations tested. Although the aquatic toxicity of DNAN was lower than previously reported in the literature for TNT, future research is needed to determine the potential synergistic toxicity of all the constituents in insensitive munition mixtures and the implications of photo-oxidation.

Effects of dietborne cadmium on life history and secondary production of a tropical freshwater cladoceran

The presence of metals in aquatic environments has increased worldwide. Environmental assessments of metals in freshwater ecosystems presume that toxicity is mainly caused by aqueous exposure, but dietborne exposure (contaminated food) in zooplankton may occur because microalgae carry metal ions through adsorption/absorption of dissolved metal species, resulting in toxic effects once ingested by the animals. However, official regulations for ecotoxicological assays in most countries do not consider the toxic effects caused by dietborne exposure. Here, we provide life history parameters and secondary production of Simocephalus serrulatus (Koch 1841) (Cladocera: Daphniidae) fed with cadmium (Cd) contaminated algae during a 21-day bioassay. The microalgae Chlorophyceae Scenedesmus quadricauda was exposed for 96 h to dissolved Cd concentrations of 0.03; 5.87; 12.27 and 22.27 µg Cd l(-1) (equivalent to 1.6 × 10(-10); 3.2 × 10(-8); 6.7 × 10(-8); 1.2 × 10(-7) mol l(-1)) that resulted in algae internal Cd burdens of 0.004; 0.032; 0.270 and 0.280 pg Cd cell(-1), respectively. Significant toxic effects on life history parameters of S. serrulatus were observed. Time of embryonic development, generation time and age at first reproduction (primipara) showed significant delay. Length at first reproduction, number of eggs and clutches produced per female, hatching percentage, body length, survival and feeding rates were significantly reduced. Secondary production, that is, accumulated biomass for growth and reproduction, decreased significantly with dietborne Cd concentrations. Our results emphasize that food can be an important source of metals to zooplankton in aquatic ecosystems. Environmental regulations should consider the diet in ecotoxicological assessments. Furthermore, secondary production may be considered as a suitable endpoint in ecotoxicity tests.

The initial tolerance to sub-lethal Cd exposure is the same among ten naïve pond populations of Daphnia magna, but their micro-evolutionary potential to develop resistance is very different

Genetic variation complicates predictions of both the initial tolerance and the long-term (micro-evolutionary) response of natural Daphnia populations to chemical stressors from results of standard single-clone laboratory ecotoxicity tests. In order to investigate possible solutions to this problem, we aimed to compare the initial sub-lethal tolerance to Cd of 10 naïve natural pond populations of Daphnia magna as well as their evolutionary potential to develop increased resistance. We did so by measuring reproductive performance of 120 clones, i.e. 12 clones hatched from the recent dormant egg bank of each of 10 populations, both in absence (Cd-free control) and presence of 4.4 μg Cd/L. We show that the initial tolerance, defined as the reproductive performance of individuals of the first generation exposed to Cd relative to that in a Cd-free control was not significantly different among the 10 studied pond populations and averaged 0.82 ± 0.04 over these populations. Moreover, these populations' initial tolerances were also not significantly different from the mean initial tolerance of 0.87 ± 0.08 at 4.0 μg Cd/L measured for a group of 7 often-used laboratory clones, collected from a range of European ecotoxicity testing laboratories. This indicates that the initial response of naïve natural pond populations to sub-lethal Cd can be relatively accurately predicted from ecotoxicity test data from only a handful of laboratory clones. We then used estimates of broad-sense heritability of Cd tolerance (H(2)) - based on the same dataset - as a proxy of these populations' capacities to evolutionarily respond to Cd in terms of the development of increased resistance, which is here defined as the increase with time of the frequency of clones with a higher Cd tolerance in the population (accompanied with an increase of mean Cd-tolerance of the population above the initial tolerance). We show that the populations' estimated H(2) values of Cd-tolerance cover almost the entire theoretically possible range, ranging from not significantly different from zero (for five populations) to between 0.48 and 0.81 (for the five other populations). This indicates that, unlike the initial tolerance to Cd, the (long-term) micro-evolutionary response to Cd may be very different among natural pond populations. Therefore, we conclude that it may be very difficult to predict the long-term response of an unstudied population to chemical stress from tolerance data on a sample of other populations. It is therefore suggested that new methods for forecasting long-term responses should be explored, such as the development of predictive models based on the combination of population-genomic and tolerance time-series data.

Ecotoxicity of paint mixtures: comparison between measured and calculated toxicity

The aims of the current study were to test the validity of the concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) calculation methods for mixture toxicity as well as the REACH guidelines for mixture exposure scenarios for paint products. Based on ecotoxicity tests of nine anticorrosive paint mixtures and the nine substances that contributed to classification of the mixtures as hazardous for the aquatic environment, neither CA nor IA was found to be appropriate calculation methods, although CA calculations were conservative for half of the mixtures tested. The REACH mixture approach, based on "lead" substances, resulted in conservative predictions for three out of five mixtures and the "lead" substance corresponded to the substance contributing the most in the CA mixture calculations for four out of six mixtures. The use of paints as a matrix for toxicity testing required adaptation of test procedures, development of sample handling and chemical analysis methods.

Toxicity of raw and neutralized bauxite refinery residue liquors to the freshwater cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia and the marine amphipod Paracalliope australis

The extraction of alumina from bauxite produces a highly toxic residue, termed bauxite refinery residue (BRR) or red mud. The toxicity of this material is due to chemical and biological effects of high pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), and Na(+) and Al(3+) concentrations. Several neutralization techniques may allow BRR to be used for environmental remediation. The present study investigated standardized 48-h acute toxicity tests with a freshwater cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and a marine amphipod, Paracalliope australis, against raw supernatant BRR liquor (RL) versus liquors neutralized with acid (ANL), CO(2) (CNL), seawater (SNL), and a hybrid method (HNL). Based on 48-h LC50 values, the toxicity of the liquors to C. dubia increased in the following order; HNL ≤ SNL< ANL ≤ CNL < RL, with comparable responses from P. australis. The high toxicity of RL likely is due to high pH (≈ 12), alkalinity, and Al concentration. Toxicity of CNL likely is due to high EC and alkalinity. Sulfate and Na(+) concentrations are considered sources of toxicity in ANL. Seawater-neutralized liquor and HNL were considerably less toxic to both test species. These data provide evidence of the acute lethal toxicity of raw supernatant liquor from BRR and four neutralized supernatant liquors to the freshwater cladoceran C. dubia and the marine amphipod P. australis, providing valuable baselines for further ecotoxicological investigations of BRR materials in aquatic environments.

Comparative population growth of Ceriodaphnia dubia and Daphnia pulex (Cladocera) exposed to zinc toxicity

Population growth of two cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia dubia and Daphnia pulex) exposed to 4 different concentrations of ZnCl(2) (0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg L(-1), plus controls) at one algal food (Scenedesmus acutus) density (0.5 X 10(6) cells mL(-1)) was quantified for 30 days. Population densities of C. dubia and D. pulex decreased with increasing concentration of Zn in the medium. At a concentration of 1 mg L(-1) of ZnCl(2), both C. dubia and D. pulex did not reproduce and died within a week. The peak population densities of C. dubia ranged from 0.2 to 6.0 ind. mL(-1), depending on the Zn level in the medium, whereas this range was lower for D. pulex (0.2 to 4.1 ind. mL(-1)). The peak population density was inversely related to the Zn concentration. The rate of population increase (r) varied from -0.12 to +0.14 and -0.02 to +0.23 per day for C. dubia and D. pulex, respectively, depending on the Zn level in the medium. Statistically, both the peak population density and the r were significantly affected by the heavy metal concentration in the medium. Multiple comparison tests showed that the rate of population increase (r) of D. pulex in the lowest ZnCl(2) level (0.125 mg L(-1)) was significantly higher than controls. However, under similar conditions, the r of C. dubia was significantly lower than controls. With a further increase in Zn level, the growth rates of both the cladoceran species were significantly reduced as compared to controls. The results are discussed in relation to published data on the toxicity of zinc to freshwater zooplankton.

Zooplankton chitobiase activity as an endpoint of pharmaceutical effect

Numerous human and veterinary pharmaceuticals are constantly entering surface waters, despite little understanding of their potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems. To address this concern, an attempt to create a simple, reproducible, inexpensive, and sublethal toxicity bioassay for freshwater zooplankton was initiated. The approach was centered on characterizing the response of a zooplankton enzyme, chitobiase, to the presence of a toxicant. The aim of the present research was to develop a reproducible laboratory-based assay for Daphnia magna chitobiase activity and to screen four commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals using that assay. The four pharmaceuticals tested for potential effects on D. magna chitobiase activity were atorvastatin, lovastatin, fluoxetine, and sertraline. We were able to detect exposure-associated differences in chitobiase activity at concentrations of 0.1 mug/L fluoxetine after 24 and 72 hours of exposure. Differences were also detected for the other compounds. The response of chitobiase was found to be promising as an assay to measure sublethal effects in D. magna and perhaps other zooplankton species.

The acute toxicity of nickel to Daphnia magna: predictive capacity of bioavailability models in artificial and natural waters

The effects of Ca, Mg, Na and pH on the acute toxicity of Ni to Daphnia magna were investigated in a series of 48-h immobilization assays in synthetic test solutions. Both Ca and Mg reduced Ni toxicity, while Na did not. Ni toxicity was not affected in the pH range of 5.7-7.5, but a further increase of pH up to 8.1 resulted in an increase of toxicity of the free Ni2+ ion. Based on the results of these experiments, a biotic ligand model (BLM) was developed in which the effects of Ca and Mg were modeled as single-site competition effects. Stability constants representing the binding strength between Ca2+ and Mg2+ and the biotic ligand (BL) were logK(CaBL)=3.10 and logK(MgBL)=2.47, respectively. The effect of pH could not be appropriately described by single-site competition between Ni2+a nd H+. Since the overall variation of toxicity within the tested pH range was relatively small, we decided not to incorporate the effect of pH in the current model. The model was able to predict 48-h EC50s in all synthetic test solutions by an error less than factor 2. The model's predictive capacity was also evaluated using results of toxicity tests in Ni-spiked natural surface waters. For 15 out of 16 tested waters, 48-h EC50s were predicted by an error less than factor 2. Additionally, after calibration to account for interclonal or interspecies sensitivity differences, the model was able to accurately predict earlier published 48-h EC50s for another D. magna clone as well as for Ceriodaphnia dubia. Finally, the predictive capacity of the model was demonstrated to be better than that of previously proposed models that include a logK(NaBL), a logK(HBL) and a logK(CaBL), but did not incorporate a logK(MgBL). An in-depth comparison of these models learned that (i) there is no need to incorporate a logK(NaBL), (ii) it is important to recognize the protective effect of Mg, and (iii) the incorporation of a logK(HBL) does not adequately describe the effect of pH. Although our model seems very promising, further research, especially into the effects of elevated pH and alkalinity levels, is needed to allow further refinement.

Comparison of nickel toxicity to cladocerans in soft versus hard surface waters

The aims of the present study were to investigate (1) whether cladocerans living in soft water (operationally defined hardness < 10 mg CaCO(3)/L) are intrinsically more sensitive to Ni than cladocerans living in hard water (operationally defined hardness > 25 mg CaCO(3)/L) and (2) whether a single bioavailability model can be used to predict the protective effect of water hardness on the toxicity of Ni to cladocerans in both soft and hard water. To address these research questions, acute and chronic bioassays were conducted with 10 different cladoceran species collected in soft and hard water lakes in Sweden. Soft water organisms were tested in a 'soft' and a 'moderately hard' test water (nominal hardness = 6.25 and 16.3 mg CaCO(3)/L, respectively). Hard water organisms were tested in a 'moderately hard' and a 'hard' test water (nominal hardness = 16.3 and 43.4 mg CaCO(3)/L, respectively). The results of the toxicity tests in the 'moderately hard' test water revealed no significant differences between the intrinsic sensitivity of soft versus hard water organisms. Modeling exercises indicated that water hardness significantly reduced Ni toxicity to both the soft and the hard water organisms tested. Although predictions of chronic toxicity were sufficiently accurate using the same logK(CaBL) and logK(MgBL) (i.e. the model parameters describing the effect of hardness) for all organisms under consideration, predictions of acute toxicity were significantly more accurate when separate logK(CaBL) and logK(MgBL) values were derived for the soft and the hard water organisms tested. This is due to the fact that the relative decrease of acute Ni toxicity to soft water organisms in 'moderately hard' compared to 'soft' test water was significantly higher than for hard water organisms in 'hard' compared to 'moderately hard' test water.

The combined effects of heavy metals (copper and zinc), temperature and food (Chlorella vulgaris) level on the demographic characters of Moina macrocopa (Crustacea: Cladocera)

In this work we evaluated the effect of temperature (22 degrees and 27 degrees C), algal density (Chlorella vulgaris 0.5 x 10(6) and 2.0 x 10(6) cells/mL) and different combinations of 2 heavy metals (Zn at 25.25-101.0 microg/L and Cu at 17.75-71.0 microg/L) on the population level variables of Moina macrocopa. Median lethal concentration (24 h bioassay at 1 x 10(6) cells/mL of algal diet) of Zn and Cu for M. macrocopa were 1010 microg/L and 710 microg/L, respectively. In the survivorship curves at 27 degrees C there was a reduction in the survival of cladocerans exposed to Cu compared to controls or Zn. The fecundity curves (m(x)) indicated a steady reproductive output throughout the life span of M. macrocopa, but the negative impact of copper was more than that of zinc. Reproductive phase of M. macrocopa was longer at 22 degrees C than at 27 degrees C. The average lifespan was higher at 22 degrees C and at the higher food level. It was significantly affected by temperature, food level and toxicant concentration, as well as their interaction. The net reproductive rate was also influenced by food and temperature but not by the toxicant level. The generation time ranged between 4-8 days and was lower at 27 degrees C. The population growth rate (r) derived from life table experiments varied from 0.6 to 0.9 per day, depending on the treatment. Regardless of the toxicant level, at 22 degrees C, the population growth was higher at the higher food level. In treatments containing only Cu, the population growth of M. macrocopa was lower than when present together with Zn. Peak population densities of around 30 ind./mL were reached under high food conditions. Higher temperature and lower food level had an adverse effect on M. macrocopa in treatments containing only Cu. In the presence of higher food density, the adverse impact of copper was not evident. The r derived from growth study ranged from 0.25 to 0.64 per day depending on the test conditions. Data were interpreted in terms of sensitivity M. macrocopa for its possible use as a complement, but not as an alternative to Daphnia magna for evaluating the toxicity of heavy metals.