Abstract
The toxic concentration for un-ionized ammonia (NH3) was assessed for nine native New Zealand invertebrate species. The 96-h EC50 values at 15°C and pH 7.6 and pH 8.2 ranged from 0.18 to >0.8 g/m3 NH3. The rank of species sensitivity was: shrimp (Paratya curvirostris) (least) ≈ mayfly (Zephlebia dentata) ≈ stonefly (Zealandobius furcillatus) < Oligochaeta (Lumbriculus variegatus) < fingernail clam (Sphaerium novaezelandiae) < mayfly (Deleatidium spp.) < a snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) < caddis (Pycnocentria evecta) < crustacean (Paracalliope fluviatilis) (most). Surprisingly, the more sensitive species were those which would normally be associated with lowland streams (the snail and crustacean) rather than the normally accepted “sensitive” species (mayflies and stoneflies). Temperature had no significant effect on the acute toxicity of un-ionized ammonia with snails tested at 15, 20, and 25°C. The invertebrates were more sensitive than the native fish species tested (inanga, EC50 1.60 g/m3 NH3; Richardson 1991). A final acute value (FAV) calculated for these species was 0.15 g/m3 NH3. This compares with the FAV value of 0.52 g/m3 NH3 derived by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the basis for the ammonia criterion for salmonid containing waters. Thus EPA criteria may not provide adequate protection for New Zealand species. These data suggest that chronic studies would be particularly desirable on native New Zealand species to better determine their sensitivity to long term ammonia exposure.
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Hickey, C.W., Vickers, M.L. Toxicity of ammonia to nine native New Zealand freshwater invertebrate species. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 26, 292–298 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203554
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00203554