Effect of food level on the acute and chronic responses of daphnids to lindane.
The toxic effects of lindane on the zooplankton communities may be strongly related to the population fitness, which is highly dependent on food availability. In order to test this hypothesis, acute (immobilisation) and chronic (life-history) responses of Daphnia longispina and Daphnia magna, reared at different food levels (low, normal, and high), were assessed in laboratorial exposures to several concentrations of lindane. A bifactorial design was employed (food level versus lindane concentration) for both species. Results showed that lindane was toxic to both D. magna and D. longispina, within a similar range. However, lindane toxicity to daphnids was dependent on food level, suggesting that the latter is an important factor to take into account when assessing the toxic effects of lindane on zooplankton communities.
Antunes
Sara C
SC
Departamento de Biologia da Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. sara@bio.ua.pt
Castro
Bruno B
BB
Gonçalves
Fernando
F
D000818:Animals; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005502:Food; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000633:toxicity*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015048:Zooplankton / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
D007306:Insecticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane