Assessment of toxicity test endpoints for freshwater mussel larvae (glochidia)

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to determine if the viability of freshwater mussel larvae (glochidia) is an ecologically relevant endpoint for toxicity tests and to define the appropriate duration of those tests. The authors assessed 1) how viability (the shell closure response to sodium chloride) compares with infectivity (ability to attach to a host fish and successfully metamorphose to the juvenile stage), and 2) the decline of viability and infectivity over time after glochidia were released from female mussels. Glochidia of 7 mussel species were isolated from females, placed in water, and subsampled daily for 2 d to 5 d. Viability, when90%, was generally a good predictor of infectivity; however, when viability was 90%.

Department(s)

Biology

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2417

Publication Date

10-5-2013

Journal Title

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

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