You are here:
CONTAMINANT SENSITIVITY OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED FISHES COMPARED TO STANDARD SURROGATE SPECIES
Citation:
Sappington, L. C., F L. Mayer Jr., F. J. Dwyer, D. R. Buckler, J. R. Jones, AND M. R. Ellersieck. CONTAMINANT SENSITIVITY OF THREATENED AND ENDANGERED FISHES COMPARED TO STANDARD SURROGATE SPECIES. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 20(12):2869-2876, (2000).
Description:
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires Federal agencies to insure that any action authorized, funded or carried out by them is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or modify their critical habitat. The wide use of pesticides and other commercial chemicals potentially poses a risk to endangered and threatened species since, by definition, the distribution of listed species is limited and further adverse effects on these populations could lead to extinction. Environmental protection procedures usually focus on populations or communities and not on protection of individuals, as may be necessary for listed species. In order to afford this additional level of protection, surrogate species used in toxicity assessment must be carefully selected.
At present, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is considered to be an acceptable surrogate for coldwater fishes, the fathead minnow (Pimphales promelas) for warmwater fishes, and the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) for saltwater species. This research was designed to determine the applicability of using rainbow trout, fathead minnows, and sheepshead minnows as surrogate species for several endangered fishes. Coldwater static acute toxicity tests were conducted with rainbow trout and three listed species of salmonids - Apache trout (O. apache), Lahontan cutthroat trout (O. clarki henshawi), and greenback cutthroat trout (O. clarki stomias). Warmwater static acute toxicity tests were conducted with fathead minnows, two listed species of cyprinids (bonytail chub, Gila elegans; Colarado pikeminnow, Ptychocheilus lucius), and one catastomid (razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus). Saltwater static acute toxicity tests were conducted with sheepshead minnows and two listed cyprinodontids (LeonSprings pupfish, C. bovinus; desert pupfish, C. macularius). Chemicals used in toxicity assessments were selected in consultation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to