Determination of the LC50-96h of iron by toxicological tests on the “guppy” Poecilia reticulata (Peters, 1859)

Abstract

Peru evidences one of the main environmental problems and this refers to mining, metallurgical and industrial contamination basically by heavy metals such as copper, zinc, iron, cadmium, lead, mercury and others, these compounds can reach various bodies of water by leaching or runoff. Fish have the capacity to store in their organism a higher concentration of these compounds compared to what is present in the environment, which is why they are important indicators of contamination. The objective of this study was to determine the mean lethal concentration LC50-96h of the fish species Poecilia reticulata under the action of the heavy metal iron. The bioassays were carried out using 10 juveniles of the “guppy” under the tested concentrations of FeSO4.7H2O of: 50,00; 74,76; 111,79; 171,04 and 250 mg/L, with three replicates for each concentration, observing mortality at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours of exposure. The LC50-96h concentration for iron in juveniles was found to be 97,131 mg/L with lower and upper confidence limits of 85,765 and 109,333 mg/L. The Probit statistical program and the analysis of variance methodology were used, which are used in toxicity tests for static acute tests. These results can be useful for the elaboration of water quality criteria and standards for the protection of national aquatic systems drastically affected by mining, metallurgical and industrial contamination