Miniature circulatory systems: A new exposure system for ecotoxicological effect assessments in riverine organisms

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2016-11, Vol.35 (11), p.2827-2833
• Main Authors: Feiner, Mona, Beggel, Sebastian, Geist, Juergen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphipoda; Amphipoda - drug effects; Amphipoda - physiology; Animals; Circulatory system; Cultivation; Decapoda; Ecological effects; Ecotoxicology; Ecotoxicology - instrumentation; Ecotoxicology - methods; Embryo, Nonmammalian - drug effects; Exposure; Filtration; Fish; Fish early life; Gammarus roeseli; Hatching; Macroinvertebrates; Mortality; Organisms; Reverse osmosis; Reverse osmosis concentrate; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Salmo trutta; Salmonidae; Toxicity; Toxicity testing; Toxicity Tests - methods; Trout - embryology; Trout - physiology; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water pollution
• ISSN: 0730-7268; 1552-8618
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.3458

Long‐term effect assessments in ecotoxicological investigations are important, yet there is a lack of suitable exposure systems for these experiments that can be used for riverine species. A cost‐efficient miniature circulatory system was developed that was evaluated for its applicability in long‐term exposures in 2 stream‐dwelling species: brown trout (Salmo trutta) and an amphipod (Gammarus roeseli). In an egg‐to‐fry exposure of S. trutta, the toxicity of 2 reverse osmosis concentrates was investigated as examples. Control hatching rate of yolk sac fry was 75 ± 7% and thus complies with the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development validity criterion (≥66%). The reverse osmosis concentrates did not impair the hatching rate in any tested concentration. In G. roeseli, mortality rates remained below 20% during a 21‐d cultivation, fulfilling the common validity criterion in ecotoxicological testing. Mortality was significantly lower when the species was fed with conditioned alder leaves instead of an artificial shrimp food. Finally, a toxicity test on G. roeseli using copper as the test substance revealed median lethal concentration (LC50) values of 156 μg/L after 96 h and 99 μg/L after 264 h, which is in line with literature findings using other accepted exposure units. In conclusion, the miniature circulatory system provides a novel and cost‐efficient exposure system for long‐term investigations on riverine species that may also be applicable for other species of fishes and macroinvertebrates. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2827–2833. © 2016 SETAC