Relative sensitivity of marine species to an effluent with elevated total dissolved solids

• Published in: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
• Main Authors: Kline, Edward R., Stekoll, Michael S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2000
• Subjects: Minnows; Pacific; northern shrimp; Pandalus borealis; Paralithodes camtschaticus; Red king crab; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620190127; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.5620190127; https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.5620190127

Abstract The acute toxicity of aged gold mill effluent was compared for two reference species (juvenile mysid shrimp [ Mysidopsis bahia (Americamysis bahia )] and larval sheepshead minnows [ Cyprinodon variegatus ]) and larvae of three species that are indigenous to the southern coast of Alaska (red king crab [ Paralithodes camtschaticus ], northern shrimp [ Pandalus borealis ], and Pacific herring [ Clupea harengus pallasi ]). Effluent osmolality was equivalent to that of 12 ppt seawater. Concentration–response relationships for the effluent, adjusted to equal the osmolality and pH of 31 ppt seawater, were determined after 24 h of exposure for immobility, paralysis, and death. The magnitude of differences and rank of sensitivity of the indigenous species depended on the response that was used for the comparison. For all responses, M. bahia and C. variegatus were the most and least sensitive species, respectively.