Leptodora kindtii: a cladoceran species highly sensitive to toxic chemicals

Abstract

Leptodora kindtii is a major predator of small zooplankton in eutrophic and fish-abundant lakes. However, as it is very difficult to culture in the laboratory, information about its sensitivity to pollutants is lacking. We have successfully established a laboratory clonal culture of Leptodora. In this study, acute toxicities of an insecticide and three heavy metals to Leptodora were estimated by using laboratory-cultured individuals. Our results suggest that Leptodora is more susceptible to contamination with those chemicals than the standard test organism, Daphnia.

Untitled

“…The sensitivity of planktonic invertebrates towards heavy metals and pesticides depends on the physic-chemical conditions (Garcı´a-Garcı´ et al, 2006), the trophic status of the reservoir (Serra et al, 2010), the presence of detergent components (Sobrino-Figueroa, 2016), as well as on relat ion to the species (Wang et al, 2009;Sakamoto et al, 2010), their neonatal size (Vesela & Vijverberg, 2007), the number of single-celled algae (Sarma et al, 2000) which have mechanis ms for heavy metals detoxification (Macfie & Welbourn, 2000).…”