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EVALUATION OF A SHORT-TERM CHRONIC EFFLUENT TOXICITY TEST USING SHEEPSHEAD MINNOW (CYPRINODON VARIEGATUS) LARVAE
Citation:
Hughes, M., M.A. Heber, G. Morrison, S. Schimmel, AND W.J. Berry. EVALUATION OF A SHORT-TERM CHRONIC EFFLUENT TOXICITY TEST USING SHEEPSHEAD MINNOW (CYPRINODON VARIEGATUS) LARVAE. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/293 (NTIS PB90196668).
Description:
In response to recent changes in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit regulations, rapid (7-day) static renewal toxicity tests have been developed to detect chronic (sublethal and lethal) effect concentrations of municipal and industrial effluents on fresh water and marine estuarine organisms. his paper evaluates results from short term (7-day) chronic effluent tests measuring effects on the growth and survival of the larvae of estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus). Growth was the more sensitive endpoint in 52% of the effluent tests survival was most sensitive in 7% of the tests. Growth and survival were equally sensitive endpoints in 26% of the tests, while there was no effect on either end-point at the highest test concentration in 15% of the tests. Four short term chronic tests were conducted concurrently with early life stage (ELS) tests using a common effluent. Effect concentrations were generally (two or three) within one dilution (a factor of three). Comparisons of short term chronic and ELS tests were also conducted with reference single chemicals and the results were slightly better than the effluent comparisons. A series of ten intralaboratory tests and seven intralaboratory tests were conducted to assess the variability among test results. Toxicity in these tests varied by no more than one test developed using the sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegatus primarily because culture techniques and Els test methods were available for this species.