Author(s): Yizhen Wang; Suiliang Huang; Chiu-On Ng; Yang Luo; Chao Lin; Wei Xu; Jun Zhang
Linked Author(s): Suiliang Huang
Keywords: Suspended particles; NaPCP; Carassius auratus; Acute toxicity; Accumulative uptake; Uptake rate
Abstract: Suspended particles are ubiquitously distributed in the water environment. The toxic effect of pollutants on aquatic organisms can be influenced by suspended particles. Aquatic organisms are usually exposed to time-varying concentrations of contaminants in a natural setting. Therefore, the prediction would be of limited use if the ecological harm of pollutants is assessed according to a standard toxicity test method that is based on constant exposure concentrations and fixed exposure time. In order to study the effect of suspended particles on the toxicity of sodium pentachlorophenol (NaPCP) to Carassius auratus, laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the acute toxicity of NaPCP to Carassius auratus and the accumulation of NaPCP in Carassius auratus under unsteady NaPCP concentrations in the presence of suspended particles. In the experiments, kaolinite was used as the suspended particles. Carassius auratus were exposed to NaPCP solution with two different initial concentrations, 300 ug· L-1 and 600 ug· L-1, for 96 hours, and water samples were extracted for analysis of NaPCP concentrations. The accumulative death, accumulative uptake contents per unit body weight and uptake rate of NaPCP of Carassius auratus in 96 hours were monitored. The experimental results reveal that the accumulative death rates of the fish would increase with increasing suspended particle concentrations, and the suspended particles could enhance the toxicity of NaPCP to Carassius auratus. The NaPCP concentrations were almost constant in the control group containing only suspended particles. The accumulative uptake contents of NaPCP per unit body weight increased sharply at the very beginning, and then mildly on approaching a steady state by the end of the experiments. The uptake rate of NaPCP by Carassius auratus was relatively large at the very beginning, and then decreased gradually, and after some time became zero when compared with the change in the earlier stage. The suspended particles did not significantly influence the uptake rate of NaPCP by Carassius auratus in the range of the experimental conditions.
Year: 2013