CERIODAPHNIA AND DAPHNIA - A COMPARISON OF THEIR SENSITIVITY TO XENOBIOTICS AND UTILITY AS A TEST SPECIES

A comparison between Ceriodaphnia sp, and other Cladoceran species inc luding Daphnia magna and D. pulex was made in terms of their life hist ory, geographical distribution, available acute and chronic toxicity t est methods and their sensitivity to compounds. Standardized methods c urrently exist to conduct acute and chronic toxicity tests with C. dub ia and this species has received considerable attention in North Ameri ca. Reasons for this attention include the taxonomic closeness to D. m agna, distribution throughout North America, relatively short duration of chronic reproductive toxicity tests (seven days), and Ceriodaphnia 's sensitivity. Our review of the literature demonstrates the pandemic distribution of Ceriodaphnia (Europe, Asia, and North America include d), the ecological importance of Ceriodaphnia species in freshwater pl ankton communities, and comparative acute and chronic sensitivity to a broad array of compounds and effluents. These attributes suggest that data from acute and chronic Ceriodaphnia toxicity tests can be consid ered equivalent to data from D. magna in environmental risk assessment s and regulatory filings. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.