Jn. Shieh et al., Statistical comparisons of the no-observed-effect concentration and the effective concentration at 10% inhibition (EC10) in algal toxicity tests, WATER SCI T, 43(2), 2001, pp. 141-146
Batch-type algal toxicity tests were conducted to evaluate the low toxic ef
fects of metal toxicants. Both the no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC)
and the effective concentration at 10% inhibition (EC10) were calculated an
d compared. The results of this study indicate that, for algal toxicity tes
ts, NOEC. offers better protection to the test organisms than EC10. In addi
tion, the consistency of NOEC is found to depend on the response endpoints
measured. A cut-off-value approach is proposed to determine whether NOEC or
EC10 should be chosen for estimating low toxic effects. For a specific tox
icity test, the average cut-off value directly indicates the magnitude of t
he square root of the within-group-variance. A precise test associated with
small within-group-variances also produces relatively small average cut-of
f value (say, less than 10% of the growth reduction). This average value pr
ovides useful information on the minimum protection that can be offered by
the NOEC.