Effect of Mercury on the Survival of Daphnia Magna

Abstract

The median lethal time (LT) for each concentration of mercury was determined on the basis of mortality curves. Toxicity curves (i.e., the median life-span of Daphniamagna, LT 50, versus the concentration of mercury) for four tested conditions are shown. The experiments were carried out using two diluents of different total hardness (46 and 119 mg/l as CaCO3), at two temperatures (20°C and 25°C). A comparison of the LT 50s of the control organisms with the LT 50s of the test organisms at mercury concentrations of 0.0075 and 0.0050 mg. l-1 showed that the chemical characteristics and temperatures of the mediums tested did not affect the range of the ‘no effect' concentration. However, the incipient LC 50, and the time required for its appearance, did depend on the combination of the abiotic factors tested.