Acute Toxicity of Chromium, Aluminium and Their Combinations to the Larvae of Chironomus Tentans
P. Satheeswaran
PG & Research Department of Zoology
A.J. Thatheyus
PG & Research Department of Zoology, The American college, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India
Keywords: Chironomus tentans, Chromium, Aluminium, Mixture toxicity.
Abstract
Heavy metals pose serious environmental problems not only to human beings but also to other animals and plants. They are the major constituents of industrial effluents and they cannot be degraded by microbes like other organic compounds. Hence they accumulate in organisms and move up the food chain resulting in biomagnification. The larvae of Chrionomus spp. are considered as bioindicators and they are commonly found in sewage contaminated sites. In the present study, acute toxicity of chromium, aluminium and their combinations to the larvae of Chironomus tentans was determined using static bioassays. The LC50 values for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours were worked out using probit analysis, regression analysis and chi-square tests. The 96hr LC50 values of Cr, Al, (Cr)+Al and (Al)+Cr combinations are 1.23, 25.55, 46.34 and 26.06ppm respectively. The significance of the results is discussed.