Evaluation of the Potential Toxicity of Treated Bleached Kraft Mill Effluent to the Early Life Stages of Stripped Bass 'Morone saxatilis'

摘要

The potential toxicity of treated bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) to eggs, prolarvae and larvae of striped bass, Morone saxatilis was evaluated. All stages were exposed under continuous flow test conditions to a range of BKME concentrations from 0 to 20% effluent by volume. The BKME used in the study was treated effluent which had a BOD5 of approximately 25 mg/1, TSS of 75 mg/1 and true color of 1915 mg/1. No mortality attributable to BKME was found in the egg stage. No delayed hatching of the eggs or other anomalies associated with hatching were found. BKME did not cause morphological abnormalities in 6-day post-hatch striped bass prolarvae exposed from the egg stage. The survival of prolarvae in freshwater was very poor. In a prolarval study using estuarine diluent water, no mortality attributable to BKME was found during exposures up to 60 hours at any BKME concentration tested. However, BKME concentrations ranging from 8 to 12% up to 20% effluent by volume caused increased mortality after 72 hours of exposure. BKME did not cause mortality in larvae exposed for 20 days through metamorphosis to the juvenile stage.