Survival and Gill Condition of Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) Exposed to Sodium Nitrilotriacetate (NTA) for 28 Days

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Macek ◽  
Robert N. Sturm

Acute dynamic bioassays with fathead minnows and rainbow trout indicated that the 96-hr median tolerance limits of sodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA) exceed 1000 times the mean environmental levels that might be anticipated from detergent use. A 28-day dynamic bioassay with bluegill and fathead minnows indicated a lack of cumulative toxicity associated with levels of NTA up to 1000 times expected environmental concentrations in water. Fishes exposed to 96 mg/liter NTA for 28 days exhibited no NTA-induced gill pathology.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J L Ward ◽  
V Korn ◽  
A N Auxier ◽  
H L Schoenfuss

Synopsis A variety of environmental estrogens are commonly detected in human-impacted waterways. Although much is known about the effects of these environmental estrogens on the reproductive physiology and behavior of individuals within species, comparatively less is known about how these compounds alter the outcomes of interactions between species. Furthermore, few studies have considered how the effects of contaminants are modulated by natural variation in abiotic factors, such as temperature. To help fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a factorial experiment to examine the independent and combined effects of estrone (E1) and temperature on the outcome of predator–prey interactions between two common North American freshwater fishes, fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Larval fathead minnows and adult sunfish were exposed to either a low (mean±standard deviation, 90.1 ± 18 ng/L; n = 16) or high (414 ± 147 ng/L; n = 15) concentration of E1 or to a solvent control for 30 days at one of four natural seasonal temperatures (15°C, 18°C, 21°C, and 24°C) before predation trials were performed. Exposure to E1 was associated with a significant increase in larval predation mortality that was independent of temperature. Across all temperature treatments, approximately 74% of control minnows survived; this survivorship significantly exceeded that of minnows exposed to either concentration of E1 (49% and 53% for minnows exposed to the low and high concentrations, respectively). However, exposure to E1 also impaired the prey-capture success of sunfish, partially mitigating predation pressure on exposed minnows. Overall prey-capture success by sunfish showed an inverted U-shaped distribution with temperature, with maximal prey consumption occurring at 21°C. This study illustrates the vulnerability of organismal interactions to estrogenic pollutants and highlights the need to include food web interactions in assessments of risk.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1811-1817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger O. Hermanutz ◽  
Leonard H. Mueller ◽  
Kenneth D. Kempfert

The toxic effects of captan on survival, growth, and reproduction of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and on survival of bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were determined in a flow-through system. In a 45-week exposure of fathead minnows, survival and growth were adversely affected at 39.5 μg/liter. Adverse effects on spawning were suspected but not statistically demonstrated at 39.5 and 16.5 μg/liter. The maximum acceptable toxicant concentration (MATC), based on survival and growth, lies between 39.5 and 16.5 μg/liter. The lethal threshold concentration (LTC) derived from acute exposures was 64 μg/liter, resulting in an application factor (MATC/LTC) between 0.26 and 0.62. LTC values for the bluegill and brook trout were 72 and 29 μg/liter, respectively. The estimated MATC is between 44.6 and 18.7 μg/liter for the bluegill and between 18.0 and 7.5 μg/liter for the brook trout.The half-life of captan in Lake Superior water with a pH of 7.6 is about 7 hr at 12 C and about 1 hr at 25 C. Breakdown products from an initial 550 μg/liter of captan were not lethal to 3-month-old fathead minnows.


1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1157-1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Brazner ◽  
Edward R. Kline

A series of 12 littoral enclosures constructed within a 2 ha, mesotrophic pond near Duluth, Minnesota were used to determine if sublethal concentrations of the insecticide chlorpyrifos [0,0,-diethyl 0-(3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl) phosphorothioate] could lead to changes in the diet and growth of fathead minnow larvae. Chlorpyrifos was added to the enclosures at nominal concentrations of 0.0, 0.5, 5.0, and 20.0 μg/L in a single application on June 16, 1986. Growth rates of larvae were significantly reduced in the treated enclosures during the 32-d study period. The most dramatic differences in the mean size of larvae from the four treatment groups were observed 15 d posttreatment. These differences corresponded to the most significant reductions in cladoceran, copepod, rotifer, and chironomid populations in the treated enclosures. These results indicate that toxicity to chlorpyrifos-sensitive invertebrate forage species forced dietary changes that led to reduced growth of native fathead minnow larvae in the treated enclosures.


Author(s):  
Richard L. Leino ◽  
Jon G. Anderson ◽  
J. Howard McCormick

Groups of 12 fathead minnows were exposed for 129 days to Lake Superior water acidified (pH 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 or 6.5) with reagent grade H2SO4 by means of a multichannel toxicant system for flow-through bioassays. Untreated water (pH 7.5) had the following properties: hardness 45.3 ± 0.3 (95% confidence interval) mg/1 as CaCO3; alkalinity 42.6 ± 0.2 mg/1; Cl- 0.03 meq/1; Na+ 0.05 meq/1; K+ 0.01 meq/1; Ca2+ 0.68 meq/1; Mg2+ 0.26 meq/1; dissolved O2 5.8 ± 0.3 mg/1; free CO2 3.2 ± 0.4 mg/1; T= 24.3 ± 0.1°C. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd gills were subsequently processed for LM (methacrylate), TEM and SEM respectively.Three changes involving chloride cells were correlated with increasing acidity: 1) the appearance of apical pits (figs. 2,5 as compared to figs. 1, 3,4) in chloride cells (about 22% of the chloride cells had pits at pH 5.0); 2) increases in their numbers and 3) increases in the % of these cells in the epithelium of the secondary lamellae.


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