Review of Recent Ecotoxicological Studies on Cladocerans

• Published in: Journal of environmental science and health. Part B, Pesticides, food contaminants, and agricultural wastes Vol. 41; no. 8; pp. 1417 - 1430
• Main Authors: Sarma, S.S.S, Nandini, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01-12-2006; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Alona; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; aquatic organisms; bioassays; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Assay; Branchiopoda; Cladocera; Cladocera - drug effects; Cladocera - growth & development; Crustacea; Daphnia magna; Demography; ecotoxicology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heavy metal; heavy metals; Invertebrates; laboratory animals; lethal concentration 50; Life table; life tables; literature reviews; Macrothrix; Micrura; Moina macrocopa; pesticides; pollutants; population density; Population Dynamics; Population Growth; Simocephalus; toxic substances; toxicity testing; Toxicity Tests - methods; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Crustacea; Demography; Ecotoxicology; Arthropoda; Cladocera; Population dynamics; Review; Invertebrata; Branchiopoda; Life table; Heavy metal
• ISSN: 0360-1234; 1532-4109
• DOI: 10.1080/03601230600964316

Cladocerans have been widely used as the bioassay organisms in evaluating the impact of different toxic substances. Literature survey during the last 10 years revealed that cladoceran ecotoxicological research has been in an exponential phase constituting nearly 10% of publications on this group. Many studies have considered typically planktonic taxa such as Daphnia magna, D. pulex, Moina macrocopa, M. micrura and Ceriodaphania dubia. Experimental data on toxicity tests, to a lesser extent, are also available for littoral-benthic genera such as Simocephalus, Macrothrix and Alona. Most toxicity tests are limited to the derivation of median lethal concentrations of various durations but mostly at 24 or 48 h. Studies related to the evaluation of changes in the life history variables of cladocerans as a result of sublethal exposure to toxic substances are not many, but gaining importance. The common toxic substances used in the cladoceran toxicity tests appear to be heavy metals, pesticides and a few natural toxins such as cyanotoxins. We review here the effect of different toxic substances on cladocerans based on both the field and the laboratory studies from an ecotoxicology point of view. Suggestions for the future cladoceran ecotoxicology are also commented on.