Light avoidance in Baikalian amphipods as a test response to toxicants

The dependence between the time of escape of Eulimnogammarus vittatus from light and toxicants in the medium has been studied. It has been shown that these amphipods display the most rapid response to light in pure Baikal water. Toxicants slow down the movement of E. vittatus in the dark. A similar effect has been observed during the experiments with heavy metals, detergents, and petroleum products. The results indicate a good prospect for using this reaction as a test response during the biological assay of toxic contamination with the help of E. vittatus.