Ecotoxicological studies with the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. IV. Rotifer behavior as a sensitive and rapid sublethal test criterion.

The swimming behavior of the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus exposed to copper (Cu), pentachlorophenol (PCP), 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA), and lindane, for periods ranging from 5 min to 5 hr, was examined. A swimming behavior test is described which is based on the rotifers' movement rates as they swim over a grid. For all four toxicants a clear dose-response was observed, with the swimming activity decreasing with increasing toxicant concentrations. For Cu the EC50's, the concentration that reduced the swimming activity to 50% of that of the control value, sharply decreased from 0.22 mg/liter after an exposure of 5 min to 0.068, 0.038, and 0.014 mg/liter after exposures of 30, 60, and 300 min, respectively. PCP affected the rotifers' swimming behavior more gradually, with EC50's decreasing from 7.0 mg/liter after an exposure of 5 min to 5.9, 5.4, and 1.5 mg/liter after 30, 60, and 300 min, respectively. A similar pattern was found for DCA with EC50's ranging from 193 to 45.5 mg/liter for the 5-min and 3-hr exposures, respectively. Exposed to lindane however, B. calyciflorus swimming activity exhibited a different response, and the EC50's gradually increased from 13.7 mg/liter after an exposure of 5 min to significantly higher values of 16.4 and 18.5 mg/liter after periods of 1 and 5 hr, respectively. The results of the swimming activity assays were compared to those of acute and chronic toxicity tests performed with the same test species. The potential use and relevance of this behavioral test criterion were evaluated and discussed.