The early warning of aquatic organophosphorus pesticide contamination by on-line monitoring behavioral changes of Daphnia magna

In this paper, the movement behavior of Daphnia magna was studied as a bio-indicator of organophosphorous pesticide (OP) contamination, using an on-line bio-monitoring method, the Multispecies Freshwater Biomonitor (R). A static test of acute toxicity test revealed the 24-h and 48-h LC50 values (95% confidence limit) for Daphnia magna to be respectively 0.45 mu g/l and 0.21 mu g/l for dipterex 3.80 mu g/l and 0.90 mu g/l for malathion, and 1.25 mu g/l and 0.38 mu g/l for parathion. The behavior strength of Daphnia magna was a sensitive indicator of sublethal OP stress and resulted in significant concentration-response relationships for the three OPs. Increasing OP concentration will result in more intensive behavioral responses of Daphnia magna and shorter response time, which could be described by the Stepwise Stress Model (SSM). Therefore movement behavior can be effectively applied in early warning of environment quality by on-line bio-monitoring. The intensive changes in behavior strength of Daphnia magna over a short time follow the SSM concept and can be used as an indicator of early stress response to OP accidental contamination.