Gammarus pulex (L.) feeding bioassay--effects of parasitism.

Taylor et al. (1993) described a pollutant bioassay based upon a change in the rate at which Gammarus pulex (L.) consumes a novel food source (eggs of the brine shrimp Anemia salina) when the animals are stressed by exposure to a pollutant. The bioassay is rapid and non-destructive, and produces results with less variation than reported using conventional leaf-feeding bioassays. However, it is important to determine the extent to which results may be influenced by the physiological status (e.g., due to parasitism) of the animals used in the bioassay.