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Suitability of Daphnia similis as an alternative organism in ecotoxicological tests: implications for metal toxicity

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Abstract

The acute toxicity of metals to Daphnia similis was determined and compared to other daphnid species to evaluate the suitability of this organism in ecotoxicology bioassays. To verify the performance D. similis in toxicity tests, we also investigated the effect of Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata at 1 × 105 and 1 × 106 cells ml−1 on Cd and Cr acute toxicity to the cladoceran. Daphnid neonates were exposed to a range of chromium and cadmium concentrations in the absence and presence of the algal cells. Metal speciation calculations using MINEQL+ showed that total dissolved metal concentrations in zooplankton culture corresponded to 96.2% free Cd and 100% free Cr concentrations. Initial total dissolved metal concentrations were used for 48 h-LC50 determination. LC50 for D. similis was 5.15 × 10−7 mol l−1 dissolved Cd without algal cells, whereas with 1 × 105 cells ml−1, it was significantly higher (7.15 × 10−7 mol l−1 dissolved Cd). For Cr, the 48 h-LC50 value of 9.17 × 10−7 mol l−1 obtained for the cladoceran in tests with 1 × 106 cells ml−1 of P. subcapitata was also significantly higher than that obtained in tests without algal cells (5.28 × 10−7 mol l−1 dissolved Cr). The presence of algal cells reduced the toxicity of metals to D. similis, as observed in other studies that investigated the effects of food on metal toxicity to standard cladocerans. Comparing our results to those of literature, we observed that D. similis is as sensitive to metals as other standardized Daphnia species and may serve as a potential test species in ecotoxicological evaluations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the National Research Council (CNPq: Process 140156/2002-0) and the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (FAPESP: Process 10417/2002) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Recursos Hídricos e Ecologia Aplicada, Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, C.P. 292, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13560-970, Brazil

    Suzelei Rodgher & Evaldo Luiz Gaeta Espíndola

  2. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, Km 235, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13565-905, Brazil

    Ana Teresa Lombardi

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  1. Suzelei Rodgher
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  2. Evaldo Luiz Gaeta Espíndola
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Correspondence to Suzelei Rodgher.

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Rodgher, S., Espíndola, E.L.G. & Lombardi, A.T. Suitability of Daphnia similis as an alternative organism in ecotoxicological tests: implications for metal toxicity. Ecotoxicology 19, 1027–1033 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-010-0484-1

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