No abstract

No abstract

The effects of copper on the development of Crassostrea gigas embryos were determined with a 48-hr static bioassay. In filtered, sterilized seawater from Bodega Bay, California, the LC100 was 20 microgram Cu/L, and the LC50 was 12 microgram Cu/L. Destruction of the naturally occurring dissolved organic material in the culture water by UV oxidation decreased embryo survival at 10 microgram Cu/L. The addition to seawater of five organic chelators (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), sodium citrate, glycine, and oxalate at 1 x 10(-6) M, and humic matter at 2 mg/L) increased embryo survival. EDTA and humic matter were the most effective chelators; EDTA significantly increased survival at 100 microgram Cu/L and humic matter did so at 40 microgram Cu/L. The ability of a chelator to increase survival was related to the stability constant of the copper-chelator complex.

No abstract

No abstract