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The Effects of Chronological Age and Size on Toxicity of Zinc to Juvenile Brown Trout

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Abstract

A series of toxicity tests were conducted to investigate the role of chronological age on zinc tolerance in juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta). Four different incubation temperatures were used to control the maturation of the juveniles before zinc exposures. These 96-h exposures used flow-through conditions and four chronological ages of fish with weights ranging from 0.148 to 1.432 g. Time-to-death (TTD) data were collected throughout the exposure along with the final mortality. The results indicate that chronological age does not play a predictable role in zinc tolerance for juvenile brown trout. However, a relationship between zinc tolerance and fish size was observed in all chronological age populations, which prompted us to conduct additional exploratory data analysis to quantify how much of an effect size had during this stage of development. The smallest fish (0.148–0.423 g) were shown to be less sensitive than the largest fish (0.639–1.432 g) with LC50 values of 868 and 354 µg Zn/L, respectively. The Kaplan–Meier product estimation method was used to determine survival functions from the TTD data and supports the LC50 results with a greater median TTD for smaller fish than larger juvenile fish. These results indicate that fish size or a related characteristic may be a significant determinant of susceptibility and should be considered in acute zinc toxicity tests with specific attention paid to the expected exposure scenario in the field.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the USEPA, Region VIII, with support from Western Washington University, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Colorado School of Mines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA, 98225, USA

    Daniel J. Diedrich & Ruth M. Sofield

  2. Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO, 80401-1843, USA

    Daniel J. Diedrich & James F. Ranville

  3. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 6201 Congdon Boulevard, Duluth, MN, 55804, USA

    Dale J. Hoff

  4. United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA Region 8 EPR-S, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO, 80202-1129, USA

    V. Dan Wall

  5. Fort Collins Service Center, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 317 W. Prospect, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Stephen F. Brinkman

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Diedrich
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  2. Ruth M. Sofield
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  3. James F. Ranville
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  4. Dale J. Hoff
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  5. V. Dan Wall
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  6. Stephen F. Brinkman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruth M. Sofield.

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Diedrich, D.J., Sofield, R.M., Ranville, J.F. et al. The Effects of Chronological Age and Size on Toxicity of Zinc to Juvenile Brown Trout. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69, 123–131 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0151-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0151-x

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