We have developed chronic toxicity reproductive 5-day tests to study the effects of Pb, as Pb(NO(3))(2), and Hg, as HgCl(2), exposure in the freshwater rotifer Lecane quadridentata. We used "r" (the instantaneous growth rate) as the endpoint. The test was performed using EPA medium at two food levels (10(5) and 10(6) cells/mL of Nannochloris oculata) at a controlled temperature of 25 degrees C and an L/D cycle of 16:8 h. We monitored the levels of both metals, using atomic absorption, at days 0, 2, and 5 of each experiment. Our results showed that rotifers fed at higher food concentrations were capable of withstanding higher levels of metal toxicity than those fed at lower food concentrations (EC50 = 0.704 versus 0.664 mg/L(-1) for lead, P < 0.05; EC50 = 0.057 versus 0.054 for mercury, P < 0.05). Our atomic absorption analysis showed that although 66% of lead nitrate can be taken up by algal cells efficiently and removed from the medium, rotifers also play an important role removing additional lead from the medium (up to 44% in some treatments). In the case of mercuric chloride, most of the mercury is bound by the salts contained in EPA medium or discarded by the organisms, and the remainder is removed by N. oculata in <48 h.
A quantitative study of toxicity levels of the San Pedro River and its main tributaries around the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico was conducted. Our study determined individual CL(50) values for each sampling point at 3 different times of the year corresponding to the main seasons of the year in terms of the hydrological cycle (dry, low rain and high rain season). Those LC(50) values were used to calculate the acute. Toxicity Units (aTU) that allowed us to compare levels of toxicity along the San Pedro River and two of its main tributaries. The sample that showed highest toxicity was IPIVA. This is due to the large quantity of industrial discharges that receives. Its effluent was responsible for the largest contribution of toxicity to the San Pedro River over the three rounds of sampling of this study. Our study classified an important portion of the San Pedro River and two of its main tributaries in toxic, moderately toxic and lightly toxic. No portion of the river studied was free of toxicity, either acute or sublethal. This study demonstrated that in spite of the operation of several water treatment plants along the San Pedro River, for the most part, the water quality of the river is still unacceptable.
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