Sensitivity of lamprey ammocoetes to six chemicals.

As part of the ecological risk assessment for Portland Harbor Superfund site, a study was conducted to address the question of whether the use of surrogate species in the risk assessment would be protective of lamprey ammocoetes. The study evaluated the acute toxicity of six chemicals: pentachlorophenol, copper, diazinon, aniline, naphthalene, and lindane; these chemicals represent the toxic modes of action of oxidative phosphorylation uncoupler, gill dysfunction, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, polar narcosis, narcosis, and central nervous system interference, respectively. Field-collected lamprey ammocoetes were exposed to each of the six chemicals in a definitive 96-h flow-through acute water-only toxicity test. LC(50)s were calculated for pentachlorophenol at 31 μg/l, copper at 46 μg/l, diazinon at 8.9 mg/l, and aniline at 430 mg/l. Species sensitivity distributions based on LC(50)s for aquatic organisms indicated that lamprey ammocoetes were relatively sensitive to pentachlorophenol (15th percentile). The sensitivity of lamprey ammocoetes to copper approximated the average of aquatic species tested (46th percentile). Lamprey ammocoetes were relatively insensitive to diazinon and aniline (72nd and 90th percentile, respectively). The 96-h LC(50) for naphthalene was estimated at 10 mg/l, based on 50% mortality in the highest concentration. Based on a comparison with LC(50)s for four other fish species, ranging from 2.0 to 6.6 mg/l, lamprey ammocoetes were relatively insensitive to naphthalene. A 96-h LC(50) could not be derived for lindane, with 12.5% mortality in the highest test concentration of 2.68 mg/l. LC(50)s for numerous other fish species ranged from 0.001 to 0.24 mg/l, indicating that lamprey ammocoetes were relatively insensitive to lindane. The study concluded that the use of surrogate species in the ecological risk assessment for Portland Harbor would be protective of lamprey ammocoetes.