Nutritional ecology of the aquatic model genus Daphnia has received much attention in past years in particular with regard to dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which are crucial for growth and reproduction. Besides their significant role as membrane components, C20 PUFAs serve as precursors for eicosanoids, hormone-like mediators of reproduction, immunity and ion transport physiology....

The toxicity of Cu to Daphnia magna was investigated in a series of 48-h immobilization assays in effluents from four wastewater treatment works. The assay results were compared with median effective concentration (EC50) forecasts produced by the HydroQual biotic ligand model (BLM), the refined D. magna BLM, and a modified BLM that was constructed by integrating the refined D. magna biotic liga...

Imidacloprid (IMI) is at the moment the insecticide with the world's fastest growing sales and is considered possible replacement for the widely used organophosphorus pesticide, diazinon, which is subject to phased revocation in many countries. In this study, biochemical, reproductive and survival parameters of the water flea (Daphnia magna) after chronic exposure to IMI, its commercial liquid ...

We compiled data from eight field studies conducted between 1998 and 2010 in Europe, Siberia, and Australia to derive thresholds for the effects of pesticides on macroinvertebrate communities and the ecosystem function leaf breakdown. Dose-response models for the relationship of pesticide toxicity with the abundance of sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa showed significant differences to reference...

As a result of a widespread application in numerous industrial processes, chromium is a contaminant of many environmental systems. Chromium and their compounds are toxic to both invertebrates and vertebrates and, for this reason, there has been a search for suitable and less toxic alternatives. Molybdenum compounds have been studied as alternative to chromium compounds for some industrial appli...

Due to their surface characteristics, nanosized titanium dioxide particles (nTiO2) tend to adhere to biological surfaces and we thus hypothesize that they may alter the swimming performance and behavior of motile aquatic organisms. However, no suitable approaches to address these impairments in swimming behavior as a result of nanoparticle exposure are available. Water fleas Daphnia magna expos...

Nickel (Ni) is a common and potentially toxic heavy metal in many fluvial ecosystems. We examined the potentially competitive and complementary roles of suspended sediment and a dissolved organic ligand, humate, in affecting the partitioning and toxicity of Ni to a model organism, Daphnia magna, in both batch and stream-recirculating flume (SRF) tests. Sediments included a fine-grained deposit,...

OBJECTIVES This study focused on the assessment of acute toxicity caused by Osthol, a major component of environment-friendly biological pesticides, by using two aquatic organisms. METHODS The assessment of acute toxicity caused by Osthol was conducted in Daphnia magna and by examining the morphological abnormalities in Danio rerio embryos. RESULTS The median effective concentration value o...

In Daphnia (Cladocera, Crustacea), parthenogenetic reproduction alternates with sexual reproduction. Individuals of both sexes that belong to the same parthenogenetic line are genetically identical, and their sex is determined by the environment. Previously, non-male producing (NMP) genotypes have been described in species of the Daphnia pulex group. Such genotypes can only persist through phas...

The use of in vitro (fish cell lines) is a cost-effective, very rapid, and informative tool for toxicological assessments. Using the neutral red (NR) assay, we compared acute toxicity (20hEC50) twenty-six chemical substances on rainbow trout gonad line (RTG-2) with their vivo to Barbados Millions Poecilia reticulata (48hLC50, OECD 203) crustacean Daphnia magna (48hEC50, 202). 20hEC50 values obt...