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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Quantifying Fish Swimming Behavior in Response to Acute Exposure of Aqueous Copper Using Computer Assisted Video and Digital Image Analysis
Published on: February 26, 2016
Differentiating copper and arsenic toxicity using biochemical biomarkers in Asellus aquaticus and Dreissena
Nicolas J Bouskill1, Richard D Handy, Tim E Ford
1Plymouth Environmental Research Centre and School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drakes Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. nbouskill@plymouth.ac.uk
Abstract:
Biomarkers of metal exposure are well known, but how a suite of such biomarkers will respond if the metal is also an oxidizing agent or causes oxidative stress is unclear. This study compares the effects of copper and arsenic, two metals with different oxidizing potential, on freshwater invertebrates. Dreissena polymorpha and Asellus aquaticus were exposed to nominal concentrations of copper (100 microg/L) or arsenic (80 microg/L) over 7 days, and physiological stress was examined by measuring metallothionein (MT) induction, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity. Both species showed increased levels of MT during 7-day Cu exposure tests and transient changes in lipid peroxidation (TBARS) which decreased to control levels by day 7. Arsenic had no effect on TBARS and only a transitory effect on MT in D. polymorpha over 7 days, although it initially induced lipid peroxidation in A. aquaticus on day 3. No inhibition of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase enzyme was observed for exposed organisms, and baseline values reported here, for A. aquaticus, 1.1 micromol Pi/mg/h, and for D. polymorpha, 0.38 micromol Pi/mg/h, are probably the first reported for these species.
