Comparison of the susceptibility of 11 freshwater species to 8 chemical compounds. II. (Semi)chronic toxicity tests

• Published in: Aquatic toxicology Vol. 4; no. 3; pp. 271 - 281
• Main Authors: Slooff, W., Canton, J.H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 1983; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: (semi)chronic toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Environmental pollutants toxicology; fish; freshwater organisms; Medical sciences; molluscs; species susceptibility; Toxicology; Water; freshwater organisms; (semi)chronic toxicity; species susceptibility; Vertebrata; Investigation method; Test; Toxicity; Fresh water
• ISSN: 0166-445X; 1879-1514
• DOI: 10.1016/0166-445X(83)90022-X

The relative susceptibility of 11 taxonomically different species (bacteria, algae, plants, crustaceans, insects, hydrozoans, molluscs, fish and amphibians) to chemicals was determined by comparing the (semi)chronic toxicity data of 8 test substances. Marked differences were observed in the susceptibility among the species with respect to the individual test compounds (up to a factor 10 000). In contrast to this, differences were smaller (less than a factor 50) when the relative susceptibility based on all separate toxicity data of the compounds was taken into account. The results showed that a test set with an alga, a crustacean and an egg-laying fish species will generally give a good impression of the toxic potential of chemicals to aquatic life. Additionally, the use of data derived from acute and chronic toxicity tests to estimate the impact of chemical substances on aquatic ecosystems is briefly discussed. It is concluded that for most chemicals the difference in short- and long-term toxicity data on the same species is less than the difference in the susceptibility of various species.