Acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to seven invertebrate species from Western Port, Victoria

Abstract

The acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to seven species of invertebrate animals from Western Port was determined using both static and continuous-flow bioassays. In the static bioassays, the species most sensitive to cadmium was Allovchestes compressa, followed by Mytilus edulis planulatus, Palaemon sp., Neanthes vaali, and Paragrapsus quadridentatus, and the LC₅₀ values ranged from 0.2 to 16.7 mg/l. The species most sensitive to zinc was A. compressa, then, in descending order of sensitivity, M. e. planulatus, Neanthes vaali, Palaemon sp., and Paragrapsus quadridentatus, and the LC₅₀ values ranged from 0.58 to 13.1 mg/l. Results for two other species, Patiriella exigua and Neotrigonia margaritacea, were inconclusive because of the difficulty in determining the point of death. Continuous-flow bioassays were carried out on Palaemon sp., Paragrapsus quadridentatus, and M. e. planulatus, and in general the LC₅₀ values were higher than those in the static bioassays.