Abstract
Laboratory experiments were performed to examine the toxic effects of fluoride (F–) on the survival and behavior of white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes). Body fluoride contents (bioaccumulation) of test crayfish were also examined. No significant differences between male and female crayfish regarding mortality, escape (tail-flip) response, and fluoride bioaccumulation were detected. For mortality, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-, 144-, 168-, and 192-h median lethal concentrations (LC50) were estimated to be 93.0, 55.3, 42.7, 36.5, 32.9, 30.6, and 28.9 mg F–/l, respectively. For the escape response, 48-, 72-, 96-, 120-, 144-, 168- and 192-h median effective concentrations (EC50) were estimated to be 18.4, 11.1, 8.6, 7.4, 6.7, 6.2 and 5.9 mg F–/l, respectively. Average food consumption in test crayfish tended to decrease with increasing water fluoride concentration with a 192-h lowest–observed effect concentration of 10.7 mg F–/l. These results indicate that the escape response was the most sensitive end point to fluoride toxicity followed by food consumption and mortality. Fluoride bioaccumulation in test crayfish increased with increasing water fluoride concentration and exposure time. The exoskeleton accumulated more fluoride than muscle. A comparison of the obtained results with previous data for other freshwater invertebrates shows that white-clawed crayfish are relatively tolerant to fluoride toxicity. We conclude that fluoride pollution in freshwater ecosystems should not be viewed as an important risk factor contributing to the catastrophic decrease of A. pallipes in many European countries. Our results indicate that fluoride bioaccumulation in A. pallipes might be used as a bioindicator of fluoride pollution in freshwater ecosystems where it is present.
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Acknowledgments
Funds for this research came from the former Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the current Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Research Projects No. CGL2006-06804 and CGL2011-28585). The University of Alcala provided logistical support for carrying out laboratory experiments. Arantxa Aguirre-Sierra was supported by a Research Grant from the University of Alcala. We are grateful to Cristina Gonzalo for collaboration in bioaccumulation analyses. We also thank Dirección General de Montes y Espacios Naturales of Junta de Castilla-La Mancha for giving us official authorization to obtain white-clawed crayfish from the Rillo de Gallo crayfish farm in Guadalajara province. Last, we are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, which contributed to improve the writing and scientific quality of the manuscript.
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Aguirre-Sierra, A., Alonso, Á. & Camargo, J.A. Fluoride Bioaccumulation and Toxic Effects on the Survival and Behavior of the Endangered White-Clawed Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 65, 244–250 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9892-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9892-6