Field and laboratory tests on acute toxicity of cadmium to freshwater crayfish

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology 1986-09, Vol.37 (3), p.355-361
• Main Authors: THORP, J. H, GLOSS, S. P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Astacoidea; Biological and medical sciences; Cadmium - toxicity; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Fresh Water; Fresh water environment; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lethal Dose 50; Orconectes immunis; Time Factors; Water Pollutants - toxicity; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800

To assess the validity of basing field toxicity standards on laboratory data, the freshwater crayfish, Orconectes immunis, was exposed to various concentrations of cadmium in laboratory aquaria and experimental ponds for 96 h. In the laboratory, both juveniles and adults of both sexes tolerated acute exposure to at least 10 mg cadmium per litre, and there were no significant differences in absolute mortality between the test animals and the controls. In the ponds, the percentage mortality was slightly greater than in the laboratory, but absolute crayfish mortality in the ponds was not related to the nominal concentrations of cadmium in the water. In view of the mortalities that occurred in the control ponds, it was possible that most of the deaths in the ponds were due to handling stress. The ratio of actual to nominal concentrations of cadmium in the water decreased more rapidly in the ponds than in the laboratory. The implications of the results are discussed, and it is concluded that acute laboratory tests could be useful in predicting the effects of acute exposures on single species in the field.