Page 679 - The Toxicology of Fishes

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Fish Toxicity Studies

Gary M. Rand

CONTENTS
Background/History...............................................................................................................................659
Objectives and Limitations....................................................................................................................660
Types of Tests ........................................................................................................................................662
Basic Concepts.......................................................................................................................................663
Concentration–Response Relationship ..................................................................................................664
Criteria for Effects (Endpoints and LC ) .............................................................................................666
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Confidence Interval (CI) ..............................................................................................................668
Slope.............................................................................................................................................668
Toxicity Curves......................................................................................................................................669
Criteria and Approaches ........................................................................................................................669
General Test Design...............................................................................................................................672
Test Organisms.......................................................................................................................................673
Water Exposure Systems .......................................................................................................................674
Standard Procedures...............................................................................................................................674
Description of Test Methods .................................................................................................................675
Acute Toxicity Tests.....................................................................................................................675
Chronic Toxicity Tests..................................................................................................................676
Short-Term Sublethal Effects.................................................................................................................677
Bioaccumulation Tests...........................................................................................................................678
Toxicity Testing: Summary....................................................................................................................679
Acknowledgment ...................................................................................................................................679
References..............................................................................................................................................679

Background/History

Fish are ecologically and economically important. They represent a group of vertebrates with diverse
behavioral and reproductive strategies and play a significant role in the food chain as consumers
(predators) and the consumed (prey). During their life cycle, most fish also feed on a broad range of
items. Although fish may not always be the most sensitive aquatic organisms to chemical stressors, they
certainly have a wide range of behaviors and habits that increase their potential for exposure to chemicals
in different environmental matrices (e.g., dissolved, adsorbed, suspended, deposited). Furthermore,
extensive literature exists on their behavior, physiology, and general environmental requirements (Evans,
1993; Hoar and Randall, 1969–1988; Hoar et al., 1992–2001). Fish thus constitute a relevant group of
test organisms to evaluate the biological effects of toxic chemicals.
General test methods used by fish toxicologists have their origin from the 1800s (Penny and Adams,
1863) and were adapted from general techniques used in mammalian toxicology. Goldfish and minnows
were the first fish species used in aquatic toxicity tests to determine the effects of chemicals used in
dye-works (Penny and Adams, 1863), but it was not until the early 1900s that fish toxicity testing became

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