Effect of mercuric ion on attraction to light of artemia sp nauplii.

Living organisms exhibit a phototactic response which can be altered by certain environmental toxic chemical species. The analysis of photobehavior can help in elucidating environmental factors that influence photomotility reactions of the organisms. A method has been developed that measures the phototactic response of Artemia nauplii under the influence of mercuric ion (Hg2+) in synthetic seawater. The phototactic response of Artemia nauplii was manifested by movement of the organisms from a darkened half to lighted half of an experimental vessel containing synthetic seawater. The density as a function of time of Artemia nauplii is determined by removing aliquots from both light and dark sides and then plating on agar for counting under the dissecting microscope. Measurements consistently show a significant movement of nauplii to the lighted side within 45 min of the start of the experiments. The present investigation demonstrated that at concentrations as low as 0.010 mg HgCl2/liter there is an enhancement of phototactic effect on Artemia nauplii by mercuric ion as compared with control. The phototactic response of Artema nauplii is altered by mercuric ion in a dose-related manner, but the mechanism of this effect is presently unknown.