ACUTE TOXICITY STUDIES OF CADMIUM ON CRAB Sesarma quadratum (Decapoda)
B. GIJILET MARY
Department of Zoology, Rajah Serfoji Govt. College (Autonomous), (Affiliated to Bharathidasan University), Thanjavur – 613 005 Tamil Nadu, India.
M. SUKUMARAN *
Department of Zoology, Rajah Serfoji Govt. College (Autonomous), (Affiliated to Bharathidasan University), Thanjavur – 613 005 Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone.. Since many species of crustaceans inhabit estuaries, numerous studies have aimed at examining the bioaccumulation and effects of various toxicants in these animals. Heavy metals can accumulate in the tissues of aquatic organisms and cause a range of hazardous effects to all organisms through biomagnifications. The aimed of this study was to investigate the acute toxicity effects of cadmium on the crab (Sesarma quadratum). Crab samples were exposed to different concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25µg/L) of cadmium for 96h and their cumulative mortality was calculated in 24 hours intervals. Results were analyzed by SPSS 20 to obtain a number of cumulative mortality and lethal.
Keywords: Sesarma quadratum, LC50, cadmium, acute toxicity, heavy metal pollution