Effects of diet on survival, reproduction, and sensitivity of <i>Ceriodaphnia dubia</i>: Fid-Bau Portal

Effects of diet on survival, reproduction, and sensitivity of Ceriodaphnia dubia

LaRocca, Christine A. / Francisco, Donald E. / DiGiano, Francis A.

ABSTRACT:  The effect of diet on the health and robustness of Ceriodaphnia dubia was investigated. C dubia were raised on three diets for 19 generations to evaluate survival and reproduction. The three diets used to culture C. dubia were the EPA‐recommended one containing the green alga, Selenastrum capricornutum, plus a mixture of yeast, cereal leaves (Sigma Chemical), and trout chow (YCT); one containing the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, plus YCT; and one with a combination of the two species of algae plus YCT. C. dubia also were subjected to various copper concentrations to evaluate the relative sensitivity to toxicants of animals raised on different diets. The levels of survival and reproduction of C. dubia raised on all three diets satisfied the both the EPA and North Carolina Division of Environmental Management Mini‐chronic Pass/Fail Ceriodaphnia Effluent Toxicity Test minimum standards for control animals used in a chronic toxicity test. Survival was not significantly different in any diet tested. Reproduction was higher in the S. capricornutum/C reinhardtii/YCT diet than in the other diets. C dubia raised on the S. capricornutum/C. reinhardtii/YCT diet were also less sensitive to copper than animals raised on the single algae diets. The results suggest that a diet that includes multiple species of algae is nutritionally superior to one that includes a single species of algae. The nature of the diet may determine whether a particular toxicant or effluent is toxic at a particular concentration.