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The effect of salinity on the acute toxicity of cadmium to the tropical, estuarine, hermaphroditic fish, Rivulus marmoratus: A comparison of Cd, Cu, and Zn tolerance with Fundulus heteroclitus

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Abstract

The mangrove-dwelling fish, Rivulus marmoratus, is the only vertebrate that is a synchronous, internally self-fertilizing hermaphrodite. This unique reproductive mode yields offspring with little genetic variation, which offers significant advantages for the use of this species in bioassays. We conducted acute (96 h) LC50 tests of Cd toxicity under four different water chemistry conditions, representing fresh water (low [Ca+Mg] and low [Na+K]), 14 ppt sea water simulated with Cl salts (high [Ca+Mg] and high [Na+K]) and two artificial conditions (high [Ca+Mg], low [Na+K] and low [Ca+Mg], high [Na+K]). Two replicates were conducted at different times for each of the four treatments and the results were very reproducible. The mean LC50's as mg total Cd/L were 2.96 (fresh water), 21.12 (high [Ca+Mg], high [Na+K]), 17.86 (high [Ca+Mg], low [Na+K]) and 12.67 (low [Ca+Mg], high [Na+K]). An additional test in 14 ppt sea water (made up from Instant Ocean™ salts) yielded a 96h LC50 of 24.48 mg Cd/L, and was thus similar to the high [Ca+Mg]-high [Na+K] treatment, despite some differences in anion and cation concentrations. The degree to which [Ca+Mg], [Na+K] and [Cl] interact to determine Cd toxicity is still unclear, although the role of [Cl] is likely to be equal to or greater than that of [Ca+Mg]. When all solutes are high, it is likely that the formation of a Cd complex with Cl (248 mM) leads to the observed reduction in Cd toxicity in comparison with hard fresh water, not the increased divalent [Ca+Mg] levels. Further tests are needed in which the various cations and anions are varied as independently as possible in order to determine their roles in affecting free [Cd], or interacting with the gills to reduce Cd toxicity.

Interstrain variation in Cd toxicity was marked; four strains of R. marmoratus were exposed to three levels of Cd (LC25, LC50 and LC75 estimated from tests of high-[Ca+Mg], high-[Na+K] conditions). Strain DS was consistently the most sensitive, whereas strain NA was consistently the most resistant to Cd across the three Cd exposure levels. Thus we recommend use of a single strain to conduct toxicity tests, or randomization of strains across treatments.

Two replicate 96h LC50 tests of each of the three heavy metals, Cd, Cu and Zn, for Rivulus marmoratus were found to be similar to values for Fundulus heteroclitus, a standard estuarine bioassay fish. The mean LC50's of Cd, Cu and Zn at 14 ppt for Rivulus were 21.1, 1.4 and 147.9 mg/L, respectively, whereas those for Fundulus were 18.2, 1.7 and 129.5 mg/L. This similarity in toxicological response by two species from different biogeographic regions (tropical vs temperate) may be due to similar physiological and biochemical adaptations to the abiotically stressful estuary.

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  1. Department of Biology, 208 Mueller Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Hui-Chen Lin & William A. Dunson

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  1. Hui-Chen Lin
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Lin, HC., Dunson, W.A. The effect of salinity on the acute toxicity of cadmium to the tropical, estuarine, hermaphroditic fish, Rivulus marmoratus: A comparison of Cd, Cu, and Zn tolerance with Fundulus heteroclitus . Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25, 41–47 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230709

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