Effects of Cadmium and Zinc on the feeding behaviour of two freshwater crustaceans: Atyaephyra desmarestii (Decapoda) and Echinogammarus meridionalis (Amphipoda)

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2007-07, Vol.68 (8), p.1556-1562
• Main Authors: Pestana, J.L.T., Ré, A., Nogueira, A.J.A., Soares, A.M.V.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphipoda; Amphipoda - drug effects; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Atyaephyra; Atyaephyra desmarestii; Biological and medical sciences; Cadmium - toxicity; Decapoda; Decapoda (Crustacea) - drug effects; Echinogammarus; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Environmental Monitoring; Feeding Behavior - drug effects; Feeding inhibition; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heavy metals; Lethal Dose 50; Portugal; Shredders; Toxicity; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Zinc - toxicity
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.02.053

Lethal and sublethal effects of Cadmium and Zinc on two freshwater crustaceans were investigated. The 96-h LC 50 for Cadmium and Zinc were 42.20 μg l −1 and 5.43 mg l −1 for Atyaephyra desmarestii, and 36.17 μg l −1 and 4.61 mg l −1 for Echinogammarus meridionalis, respectively. An increase in metal concentrations at sublethal levels resulted in significant reductions of the feeding rate of both species. The LOECs in the chronic feeding assays for Zinc were 1.29 mg l −1 for A. desmarestii and 0.4 mg l −1 for E. meridionalis. For Cadmium the LOEC was 6.53 μg l −1 for both species. The results suggest the potential use of these two crustacean species as test organisms in ecotoxicological tests. Feeding assays appear to be a rapid, cheap and effective tool to be used in biomonitoring studies of Portuguese freshwaters.