Sublethal Effect of 5-Chlorouracil on Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Larvae

Abstract

The sublethal effects of 5-chlorouracil, expressed as gross anatomical malformations, on newly hatched carp (Cyprinus carpio) larvae are presented. The percent malformed of those hatched was 1.2 at 0.5 ppm, 2.1 at 1.0 ppm, 2.7 at 5.0 ppm, and 4.3 at 10 ppm. Both a least-squares fit of a hyperbolic model and a linear-regression fit are used to describe the response. The malformations are an incremental effect of exposure to a toxicant which should be considered in addition to egg mortality in assessing the effect of environmental toxicants on populations.