The Influence of Acclimation Temperature on the Interactions of Chlorine, Elevated Temperature, and Exposure Duration for Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio

Abstract

Abstract The effect of 15 and 27 C acclimation temperatures on interactions of chlorine, elevated temperature (ΔT), and exposure duration was assessed for the grass shrimp. Test organisms were exposed to total residual chlorine (TRC) concentrations of 0.00, 0.15, and 0.30 mg/liter in combination with ΔT's of 2, 6, and 10 C above acclimation temperature and exposure periods of 0.08, 2.0, and 4.0 hours. Chlorine concentrations were decayed over a 1–1.5-hour period to <0.01 mg/liter TRC and temperatures were decayed over a 4-hour period to 2 C above acclimation. Mortality observations were conducted for 96 hours; however, most of the deaths occurred 36 hours after exposure to the three test variables. A percent mortality model for grass shrimp acclimated to 27 C showed (1) the response to chlorine concentration alone and ΔT alone was proportional to the square root of either variable; (2) the exposure duration effect was linear; and (3) no second-order interactions occurred among the variables tested. The mo...