A rapid, simple screening toxicity test using desiccated bdelloid rotifers: Rotifer Activity Inhibition Test (RAIT).

A protocol for an ultra-rapid screening toxicity test is described using the rotifer Philodina acuticornis/roseola. The test can be executed in 30 min starting from the rehydration of desiccated life stages called tuns. Philodina tuns remain viable for years when maintained dry and at low temperature.

A new simple method with high precision for determining the toxicity of antifouling paints on brine shrimp larvae (Artemia): first results.

The use of antifouling paints is the only truly effective method for the protection of underwater structures from the development of fouling organisms. In the present study, the surface to volume concept constitutes the basis for the development of a new and improved method for determining the toxicity of antifouling paints on marine organisms. Particular emphasis is placed on the attainment of a standardized uniformity of coated surfaces.

Toxicity of selected pharmaceuticals to the anostracan crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus: comparison of sublethal and lethal effect levels with the 1h Rapidtoxkit and the 24h Thamnotoxkit microbiotests.

Background, Aims And Scope: In view of the limited amount of information on the potential hazard of the ever increasing amounts of drugs in surface waters to aquatic biota, a study was undertaken to determine the effect levels of 28 selected pharmaceuticals to the crustacean test species Thamnocephalus platyurus. The drugs belong to 5 different groups: non steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, biocides, cardiovascular compounds, nervous system drugs and pu rine alkaloids

Methods: Toxicity tests were carried out with the 1h Rapidtoxkit and the 24h Thamnotoxkit microbiotests in order to make a comparison of sublethal effects (visible as stress through absence of feeding) measured after a very short time of exposure (1h) and lethal effects after prolonged exposure (24h). Dilution series starting at 200 mg l(-1) were prepared and applied, and median effects levels were calculated and transformed into Toxic Units (TU) for easy data comparison.

Cyst-based toxicity tests XVII--prefeeding advantages in short-chronic rotifer microbiotests.

Attempts were made to overcome too-low reproductive output in the 48-h short-chronic microbiotest with the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus fed with microalgae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) from algal beads older than 4 months (Chemosphere 50 (2002a) 365). Prefeeding of freshly hatched rotifers prior to the start of the actual growth experiments resulted in a satisfactory reproduction (i.e.

Toxicity assessment of oil-contaminated freshwater sediments.

The performance of four microscale toxicity bioassays conducted on whole sediments was evaluated during a bioremediation project undertaken in 1999-2000 on a crude oil-contaminated freshwater shoreline of the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada. The toxicity tests assessed included: (1) the Microtox solid-phase assay (MSPT), (2) the Biotox Flash solid-phase test (Flash), (3) the algal solid-phase assay (ASPA), and 4) the Ostracodtoxkit solid-phase assay.

A practical and user-friendly toxicity classification system with microbiotests for natural waters and wastewaters.

Various types of toxicity classification systems have been elaborated by scientists in different countries, with the aim of attributing a hazard score to polluted environments or toxic wastewaters or of ranking them in accordance with increasing levels of toxicity. All these systems are based on batteries of standard acute toxicity tests (several of them including chronic assays as well) and are therefore dependent on the culturing and maintenance of live stocks of test organisms. Most systems require performance of the bioassays on dilution series of the original samples, for subsequent calculation of L(E)C50 or threshold toxicity values.

The effects of a copper-based antifouling paint on mortality and enzymatic activity of a non-target marine organism.

Antifouling paints are used on a wide range of underwater structures in order to protect them from the development of fouling organisms. The leaching of the toxic substances from the matrix of the paint causes toxic effects not only to the fouling organisms but also on other "non-target" biota. The present study addresses the impact of the antifouling paint Flexgard VI-II on brine shrimp nauplii selected as convenient test organisms.

Cyst-based toxicity tests XV--application of ostracod solid-phase microbiotest for toxicity monitoring of contaminated soils.

A new "culture/maintenance-free" microbiotest has recently been developed for "direct-contact" toxicity determination of contaminated sediments. The 6-day Ostracodtoxkit F makes use of the neonates of the ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens hatched from dormant eggs (cysts). The new low-cost assay has already been applied in three studies on river sediment from Flanders (Belgium) and from Canada and was found to perform comparably to the 10-day Hyalella azteca and Chironomus riparius tests in detecting and quantifying sediment toxicity.

Cyst-based toxicity tests. XVIII. Application of ostracodtoxkit microbiotest in a bioremediation project of oil-contaminated sediments: sensitivity comparison with Hyalella azteca solid-phase assay.

To further validate the scope of use of the 6-day sediment contact microbiotest conducted with the ostracod Heterocypris incongruens, we compared the sensitivity of this small-scale culture/maintenance-free assay with the 14-day solid-phase Hyalella azteca test. The present study was undertaken within the framework of a Canadian bioremediation project on oil-contaminated freshwater sediments along an intertidal shoreline of the Saint-Lawrence River near the town of Sainte-Croix, Quebec, Canada. Sediment subsamples, collected during three sampling periods over 21 weeks from five plots (each with four replicates) contaminated with different treatments, were analyzed for their toxic effects on the two test species.

Cyst-based toxicity tests XVI--sensitivity comparison of the solid phase Heterocypris incongruens microbiotest with the Hyalella azteca and Chironomus riparius contact assays on freshwater sediments from Peninsula Harbour (Ontario, Canada).

In view of the complexity and costs of "traditional" whole sediment assays, a "culture/maintenance free" direct contact microbiotest has been developed with the freshwater ostracod Heterocypris incongruens. The new Toxkit assay (named Ostracodtoxkit) has been applied to 33 sediment samples from Peninsula Harbour, located in Lake Superior of the Great Lakes water basin in Ontario, Canada. The microbiotest was applied in parallel to direct contact tests with the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge larva Chironomus riparius, to compare its relative sensitivity with that of the two "conventional" assays.

Cyst-based toxicity tests XIV--application of the ostracod solid-phase microbiotest for toxicity monitoring of river sediments in Flanders (Belgium).

In view of the need for rapid and low-cost solid-phase assays for contaminated sediments, a new 6-day "culture/maintenance-free" microbiotest has been developed with the freshwater ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens at the Laboratory for Biological Research in Aquatic Pollution at the Ghent University in Belgium. The sensitivity of the Ostracodtoxkit F has been compared with that of the 10-day sediment contact test with the amphipod crustacean Hyalella azteca and the two pore water assays (on the anostracan crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus and the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata) selected by the Flemish Environmental Agency for initial hazard assessment of contaminated sediments. The exercise was performed on 26 sediments collected at random from various rivers of the Flemish hydrographic basin in Belgium.

Cyst-based toxicity tests XIII--development of a short chronic sediment toxicity test with the ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens: methodology and precision.

Experiments were carried out with neonates of the freshwater ostracod Heterocypris incongruens to verify and complete previous choices of test parameters for a new culture/maintenance-free solid-phase microbiotest for freshwater sediments. From trials with increasing volumes of reference sediment, it was concluded that 300 microL was the most appropriate amount of substrate to be put in 12-cup multiwell plates with 2 mL of standard freshwater. Tests in 3-9 replicates eventually showed that six parallels were needed to have good assay precision (repeatability).

Cyst-based toxicity tests XII--development of a short chronic sediment toxicity test with the ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens: selection of test parameters.

Experiments were carried out with neonates of the freshwater ostracod Heterocypris incongruens hatched from cysts in order to develop a new culture/maintenance-free solid-phase microbiotest for the toxicity assessment of contaminated sediments. Based on preliminary investigations, a number of test parameters were investigated for a short-chronic assay: hatching time, size of the cups of the multiwell test plates, feeding of the test organisms prior to the test, amount of supplemental algal food, volume of sediment, and duration of the test. On the basis of the findings, a test protocol was formulated for a 6-day assay in 12-cup multiwell plates with 10 organisms per cup and 3 replicates.

Development of methods for evaluating toxicity to freshwater ecosystems.

This article presents a summary of a collaborative research program involving five European research groups, that was partly funded by the European Commission under its Environmental Research Program. The objective of the program was to develop aquatic toxicity tests that could be used to obtain data for inclusion at Level 2 of the Risk Evaluation Scheme for the Notification of Substances as required by the 7th Amendment to EC Directive 79/831/EEC. Currently only a very limited number of test methods have been described that can be used for this purpose and these are based on an even smaller number of test species.

Modelling of human acute toxicity from physicochemical properties and non-vertebrate acute toxicity of the 38 organic chemicals of the MEIC priority list by PLS regression and neural network.

Linear and non-linear modelling of human acute toxicity (as human lethal concentrations; HLCs) of the 38 organic chemicals from the 50 priority compounds of the Multicentre Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity (MEIC) programme was investigated. The models obtained were derived either from a set of 23 physicochemical properties of the compounds or from their acute toxicities to five aquatic non-vertebrates together with the physicochemical properties. For the linear type, modelling was performed using a partial least square projection to latent structures (PLS) regression method; for the non-linear models, both PLS regression and neural network were utilized.

Ecotoxicological studies with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. IV. Rotifer behavior as a sensitive and rapid sublethal test criterion.

The swimming behavior of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus exposed to copper (Cu), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA), and lindane, for periods ranging from 5 min to 5 hr, was examined. A swimming behavior test is described which is based on the rotifers' movement rates as they swim over a grid. For all four toxicants a clear dose-response was observed, with the swimming activity decreasing with increasing toxicant concentrations.

Human acute toxicity prediction of the first 50 MEIC chemicals by a battery of ecotoxicological tests and physicochemical properties.

Five acute bioassays consisting of three cyst-based tests (with Artemia salina, Streptocephalus proboscideus and Brachionus calyciflorus), the Daphnia magna test and the bacterial luminescence inhibition test (Photobacterium phosphoreum) are used to determine the acute toxicity of the 50 priority chemicals of the Multicentre Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity (MEIC) programme. These tests and five physiocochemical properties (n-octanol-water partition coefficient, molecular weight, melting point, boiling point and density) are evaluated either singly or in combination to predict human acute toxicity. Acute toxicity in human is expressed both as oral lethal doses (HLD) and as lethal concentrations (HLC) derived from clinical cases.

QSAR models for predicting the acute toxicity of selected organic chemicals with diverse structures to aquatic non-vertebrates and humans.

The linear and non-linear relationships of acute toxicity (as determined on five aquatic non-vertebrates and humans) to molecular structure have been investigated on 38 structurally-diverse chemicals. The compounds selected are the organic chemicals from the 50 priority chemicals prescribed by the Multicentre Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity (MEIC) programme. The models used for the evaluations are the best combination of physico-chemical properties that could be obtained so far for each organism, using the partial least squares projection to latent structures (PLS) regression method and backpropagated neural networks (BPN).

Ecotoxicological studies with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. III. The effects of chemicals on the feeding behavior.

The effect of short-term exposure to xenobiotics on the feeding behavior of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus was studied. The filtration and ingestion rates of this rotifer decreased after an exposure of 5 hr to sublethal concentrations of copper, pentachlorophenolate, 3,4-dichloroaniline, and lindane. The effective concentrations at which feeding rate was reduced to 50% of that in controls (EC50) for the respective chemicals are 0.

Cyst-based toxicity tests. VI: Toxkits and Fluotox tests as cost-effective tools for routine toxicity screening.

During the last two decades microbiotests have been developed which are independent of recruitment, maintenance and/or culturing of live stocks of test organisms. "Culture and maintenance free" microbiotests have been worked out in the Laboratory for Biological Research in Aquatic Pollution at the University of Ghent, with selected aquatic invertebrates. The new approach is based on the use of "resting stages" (cysts) as inert biological material from which live test organisms can be hatched "on demand".

Acute toxicity tests using rotifers. IV. Effects of cyst age, temperature, and salinity on the sensitivity of Brachionus calyciflorus.

Several aspects of the response to toxicants using a standardized toxicity test with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus are described. Test animals are obtained by hatching cysts which produce animals of similar age and physiological condition. The acute toxicity of 28 compounds is described with 24-hr LC50's.