Effects of salinty and temperature on the acute toxicity of cadmium to the estuarine crab Paragrapsus gaimardii (Milne Edwards)

Abstract

In static acute toxicity tests on the crab P. gaimardii the cadmium chloride concentrations fatal to 50% of the test animals over 96 h were determined for temperatures of 5 and 19ºC and salinities of 8.6,17.5,26.3 and 34.6‰. The LC50 values ranged from 15.7 to 101.9 mg Cd²⁺/1. The mortality was greater at the higher temperature but at both temperatures a decrease in salinity caused an increase in the lethality of cadmium for the crabs.