Effect of Hypoxia on Sodium and Ammonium Acetate Toxicity for Daphnia

Abstract

Exposure of Daphnia in degassed (boiled) culturing water (hypoxia simulation) led to solitary lethal outcomes after more than 24 h. Before this term, hypoxia had no appreciable effect on the toxicity of sodium or ammonium acetate salts. The sensitivity of daphnias to the lethal effects of the tested chemicals did not change under conditions of normal oxygenation and increased sharply (by two orders of magnitude) under conditions of hypoxia, loosing the linear relationship with toxicant concentration. Ammonium acetate toxicity more markedly increased under conditions of hypoxia than sodium acetate toxicity. These data should be taken into consideration when predicting the results of combined effects of toxicants on water ecosystems and on human organism.