Variation in tolerance to common marine pollutants among different populations in two species of the marine copepod Tigriopus.

Geographical variation in chemical tolerance within a species can significantly influence results of whole animal bioassays, yet a literature survey showed that the majority of articles using bioassays did not provide detail on the original field collection site of their test specimens confounding the ability for accurate replication and comparison of results. Biological variation as a result of population-specific tolerance, if not addressed, can be misinterpreted as experimental error. Our studies of two marine copepod species, Tigriopus japonicus and Tigriopus californicus, found significant intra- and inter-specific variation in tolerance to copper and tributyltin. Because both species tolerate copper concentrations orders of magnitude higher than those found in coastal waters, difference in copper tolerance may be a by-product of adaptation to other stressors such as high temperature. Controlling for inter-population tolerance variation will greatly strengthen the application of bioassays in chemical toxicity tests.