1. Scope

1.1 This guide along with Guide E 1192 and guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1,2) covers the use of resident species in toxicity testing, particularly if site-specific information is desired. For example, in those systems where particular species are considered to be economically or aesthetically important, it might be more appropriate to utilize resident species for testing (3). For this reason, the USEPA allows development of site-specific chemical standards, using resident species, in order to reflect local conditions (1). This guide is designed to guide the selection of resident species for use as test organisms in aquatic and sediment toxicity tests. It presupposes that the user is familiar with the taxonomy of aquatic and benthic species and has some field experience.

1.2 Because toxicological information is often limited for many aquatic species, it is assumed that the majority of testing applications will be acute tests. Therefore, much of the guidance presented in this guide pertaining to the species selection process is applicable when acute toxicity testing is the desired goal. However, the principles discussed in this guide pertain to chronic toxicity test applications as well, although it should be clearly understood that such testing requires substantially greater effort, time, and resources than acute testing.

1.3 The procedures for selecting resident species in toxicity testing are necessarily general at this time because information is often lacking for specific taxa or groups of taxa. This guide attempts to give specific information when appropriate.

1.4 This guide is not intended to be inclusive. References listed provide a starting point from which to approach the literature. This guide deals solely with aquatic toxicity test situations. Terrestrial, arboreal, or atmospheric species ar not considered in this guide.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. All safety precautions and health-related practices are the responsibility of the user. Specific safety practices are suggested in Section 8.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D4229 Practice for Conducting Static Acute Toxicity Tests on Waste-Waters with Daphnia

D4401 Practice for Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrates With Petersen Grab Sampler

D4407 Practice for Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrates With Orange Peel Grab Sampler

D4556 Guide for Selecting Stream-Net Sampling Devices for Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrates

D4557 Practice for Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrates with Surber and Related Type Samplers

D4558 Practice for Collecting Benthic Macroinvertebrates With Drift Nets

E724 Guide for Conducting Static Acute Toxicity Tests Starting with Embryos of Four Species of Saltwater Bivalve Molluscs

E729 Guide for Conducting Acute Toxicity Tests on Test Materials with Fishes, Macroinvertebrates, and Amphibians

E1191 Guide for Conducting Life-Cycle Toxicity Tests with Saltwater Mysids

E1192 Guide for Conducting Acute Toxicity Tests on Aqueous Ambient Samples and Effluents with Fishes, Macroinvertebrates, and Amphibians

E1193 Guide for Conducting Daphnia magna Life-Cycle Toxicity Tests

E1210 Practice for Fluorescent Liquid Penetrant Testing Using the Hydrophilic Post-Emulsification Process

E1218 Guide for Conducting Static Toxicity Tests with Microalgae

E1241 Guide for Conducting Early Life-Stage Toxicity Tests with Fishes

E1367 Test Method for Measuring the Toxicity of Sediment-Associated Contaminants with Estuarine and Marine Invertebrates

E1383 Guide for Conducting Sediment Toxicity Tests with Freshwater Invertebrates

E1415 Guide for Conducting Static Toxicity Tests With Lemna gibba G3

E1440 Guide for Acute Toxicity Test with the Rotifer Brachionus

E1463 Guide for Conducting Static and Flow-Through Acute Toxicity Tests With Mysids From the West Coast of the United States

E1498 Guide for Conducting Sexual Reproduction Tests with Seaweeds

E1525 Guide for Designing Biological Tests with Sediments

E1562 Guide for Conducting Acute, Chronic, and Life-Cycle Aquatic Toxicity Tests with Polychaetous Annelids

E1563 Guide for Conducting Static Acute Toxicity Tests with Echinoid Embryos ,

E1611 Guide for Conducting Sediment Toxicity Tests with Polychaetous Annelids

E1688 Guide for Determination of the Bioaccumulation of Sediment-Associated Contaminants by Benthic Invertebrates

E1706 Test Method for Measuring the Toxicity of Sediment-Associated Contaminants with Freshwater Invertebrates

E1913 Guide for Conducting Static, Axenic, 14-Day Phytotoxicity Tests in Test Tubes with the Submersed Aquatic Macrophyte, Myriophyllum sibiricum Komarov

E1924 Guide for Conducting Toxicity Tests with Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates

E2122 Guide for Conducting In-situ Field Bioassays With Caged Bivalves

Keywords

aquatic toxicity testing; bioassessment; indigenous species; resident species; sediment toxicity testing; site-specific monitoring;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 13.060.45 (Examination of water in general)

DOI: 10.1520/E1850-97

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