Screening of Candidate Species for Development of Standard Operating Proceduresfor Aquatic Toxicity Testing with Resident Chesapeake Bay Biota

摘要

The goal of this study was to evaluate 25 resident Chesapeake Bay species(vertebrates, invertebrates and plants) as potential candidates for future Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) development for estuarine water column toxicity tests. Candidate species were considered for the following types of toxicity tests: effluent toxicity tests (species needed year round); ambient toxicity tests (species needed approximately once per season) and single chemical toxicity tests (species needed much less frequently than the above two types of tests). Candidate species for future SOP development were evaluated by using the following criteria: ecological significance to Chesapeake Bay; feasibility of culturing and testing year round; and sensitivity to toxic chemicals. The two species recommended for future SOP development are the copepod, Eurytemora affinis and the sago pondweed, Potamogeton pectinatus.