Abstract
The invertebrate rotifer, introduced into toxicological research more than 40 years ago (Marriott et al. 1948; Allee and Rosenthal 1949), has since been used both as a model organism to investigate the biochemical and physiological actions of toxins (Lindner and Goldman 1964; Kleinow 1986) and as a test organism in bioassays to monitor pollution in marine and fresh water environments (Snell and Persoone 1989; Fern~indez-Casalderrey et al. 1991). The selection of rotifers as the experimental animals has several justifications. First, being multicellular animals, they offer a better choice over bacteria and protozoans. Second, they are easy to collect, culture and inexpensive to maintain. Third, several species are all parthenogenetic females. This enables one to prepare clones of genetically identical individuals, all descendants of one female. Consequently, the genetic factor is largely eliminated from the interpretation of the experimental results. Fourth, since the lifespan of most species is short (5 to 40 d), the chronic effects of toxins on lifespan and reproduction can be evaluated relatively quickly.
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