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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Rebecca Taylor, Dr Gary Caldwell, Emeritus Professor Matt Bentley
The recent discovery of the production of anti-proliferative aldehydes in a variety of microalgal species has lead to considerable investigation into the effects of these toxins on aquatic invertebrates. Studies have, however, rarely considered the impact pollutants may have on grazer responses to algal toxins. In this study, the acute toxicities of five aldehydes to the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia salina are examined using immersion assays. In addition, the effect of a representative of these aldehydes in the presence of sub-lethal levels of heavy metals was examined. B. plicatilis generally showed greater sensitivity to the aldehydes than A. salina. The polyunsaturated 2-trans,4-trans-decadienal was the most toxic to both species having 24 h LD50 values of 7 and 20 μM for B. plicatilis and A. salina, respectively. The remaining aldehydes had different orders of toxicity for the two species with a stronger relationship observed between mortality and aldehyde carbon-chain length for A. salina whereas B. plicatilis mortality showed a stronger dependence on the presence of carbon-carbon double bonds in the aldehydes. The presence of 1 μM of copper sulphate in solutions of decadienal resulted in the reduction of the 24 h LD50 of decadienal by approximately a third for both species. 1 μM of copper chloride in solutions of decadienal reduced the 24 h LD50 of decadienal to A. salina nauplii by approximately 11% and 1 μM zinc sulphate caused a reduction of only 3%. Pre-exposure of the organisms to 1 μM copper sulphate had no significant impact on their subsequent mortality in decadienal. The ecological implications and the possible mechanisms for the action of copper sulphate on the response of organisms to decadienal are discussed. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Author(s): Taylor RL, Caldwell GS, Bentley MG
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Aquatic Toxicology
Year: 2005
Volume: 74
Issue: 1
Pages: 20-31
ISSN (print): 0166-445X
ISSN (electronic): 1879-1514
Publisher: Elsevier BV
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2005.04.006
DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2005.04.006
PubMed id: 15927283
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