The Daphnia bioassay: a critique

Donald J. Baird, Ian Barber, Mairead Bradley, Peter Calow, Amadeu M.V.M. Soares

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    235 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Daphnia magna is used widely as a standard ecotoxicological indicator organism, and protocols exist for its use in assessing the toxicity of substances under acute and chronic experimental conditions. Problems exist in repeatability of such bioassays between laboratories. Sources of variation are identified using a simple quantitative genetics model. Presenting specific examples, we conclude that these problems are tractable, but only if the genotype and culture conditions prior to and during tests are strictly controlled.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)403-406
    Number of pages4
    JournalHydrobiologia
    Volume188-189
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Dec 1989

    Keywords

    • Daphnia
    • bioassay
    • effects of food concentration
    • genetic variation
    • genotype-environment effects
    • laboratory culture
    • maternal effects

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