Measured Copper Toxicity to Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Pisces: Poeciliidae) and Predicted by Biotic Ligand Model in Pilcomayo River Water: A Step for a Cross-Fish-Species Extrapolation.

In order to determine copper toxicity (LC50) to a local species (Cnesterodon decemmaculatus) in the South American Pilcomayo River water and evaluate a cross-fish-species extrapolation of Biotic Ligand Model, a 96 h acute copper toxicity test was performed. The dissolved copper concentrations tested were 0.05, 0.

Application of the biotic ligand model for regulatory purposes to selected rivers in Argentina with extreme water-quality characteristics.

The biotic ligand model (BLM) was used to assess copper (Cu) bioavailability, toxicity, water-effect ratios (WER), and Cu site-specific water-quality criteria (SSWQC) in the Matanza River and Pilcomayo River, Argentina, where anthropogenic inputs and natural phenomena have led to high concentrations of chemical species capable of reducing metal toxicity: Sodium, total hardness, alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon, and suspended particulate matter (SPM), as well as other metals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of developing Cu-SSWQC from a modified scenario of the BLM-Monte-Carlo method model. The response of the BLM model in these rivers, with water quality near its application boundary conditions, was evaluated during the 2003 to 2004 hydrological cycle.