Investigating the potential impacts of chlorophenols on the lake baikal (Siberia, russia) food web by employing daphnia grazing bioassays and a chlorella growth bioassay
A grazing bioassay was employed to assess the impacts of chlorophenols on Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex. The effects of two chlorophenols, pentachlorophenol (PCP) and 4-chlorophenol, were investigated at concentrations of 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 mg . L-1 over a 96-h period. All tests were conducted in water from the southern basin of Lake Baikal (Siberia). For D. magna, grazing rates were significantly depressed after exposure to 0.001 mg . L-1 of PCP for 48 h or to 0.01 mg . L-1 of 4-chlorophenol for 96 h. However, neither chemical continued to depress filtering rates as either dose or time increased, thus effective concentrations (EC50s) could not be determined. This prevents the use of this bioassay as a tool for assessing exposure to chlorophenols, but it is still useful in that it provides insight into potential ecological effects. In the case of D. pulex, depressed rates were also found at 0.001 mg . L-1 of PCP after 48 h; due to problems with the control, no conclusions were drawn for the effect of 4-chlorophenol on this species. The growth rates of Daphnia's prey, Chlorella vulgaris, were also investigated in the presence of these chemicals; no observable effects were found at any concentration during the 96-h period, implying that ecosystem effects may be limited to higher trophic levels.
Gokcen
JE
University of Minnesota, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.