EFFECTS OF COPPER ON EARLY LIFE HISTORY STAGES OF 

 NORTHERN ANCHOVY, ENGRAVLIS MORDAX 



D. W. Rice, Jr.,' F. L. Harrison,* and A. Jearld, Jr.^ 



ABSTRACT 



The sensitivity to copper of embryonic and larval stages of the Northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, 

 was determined using a flow-through bioassay system. Northern anchovy embryos were exposed 

 continuously from 8 to 10 hours after fertilization until hatching, and the larvae were exposed within 12 

 hours after hatching until yolk-sac absorption. During the testing both total copper concentrations and 

 the percent copper in labile forms were determined. From the cumulative mortality versus measured 

 copper exposure data, a series of median lethal concentrations (LCso* were determined. These LC50 

 values were used to construct comparative toxicity curves. 



The northern anchovy life stage most sensitive to copper was the embryonic stage. For northern 

 anchovy embryos the 12-hour LC50 was 200 /xg Cu/1, and the estimated incipient lethal concentrations 

 (ILCjq) was 190 /u,g Cu/l; a sensitive period of embryonic development was noted prior to closure of the 

 blastopore. The 12 hours, 24 hours, and ILC^^ for northern anchovy larvae were 460, 400, and 370 /xg 

 Cul. 



Copper is one of the wastes commonly discharged 

 into coastal waters that has been shown to be toxic 

 to marine fishes (Becker and Thatcher 1973; Lewis 

 and Whitfield"^). Increased copper concentrations 

 in coastal marine waters have resulted from the 

 release of municipal wastewater (Schafer^), power 

 plant effluents (Young et al.^), and marine an- 

 tifouling paints (Young and Alexander*^). In pol- 

 luted waters, concentrations have been recorded 

 as high as 16,800 )ng Cu/1 in municipal waste ef- 

 fluents ( Schafer footnote 4 ) and 1,800 fxg Cu/1 dur- 

 ing start up of a power plant (Martin et al. 1977). 

 One important factor in the toxic effect of copper 

 on marine fishes is the life history stage when the 

 exposure occurs. Few studies have examined the 



'Environmental Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore 

 Laboratory, University of California, Livermore, CA 94550. 



^Northeast Fisheries Center Woods Hole Laboratory, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Woods Hole, MA 02543. 



3Lewis, A. G., and EH. Whitfield. 1974. The biological im- 

 portance of copper in the sea, a literature review. International 

 Copper Research Association, Proj. No. 223, Final Rep., 132 p. 



■'Schafer, H. A. 1977. Characteristics of municipal waste- 

 water discharges, 1976. Coastal Water Research Project, An- 

 nual Report, 1977, 253 p. Southern California Coastal Water 

 Research Project, 1500 East Imperial Highway, El Segundo, CA 

 90245. 



5Young,D.R.,Tsu-Kai Jan, and M.D.Moore. 1977. Metals 

 in power plant cooling water discharges. Coastal Water Re- 

 search Project, Annual Report, 1977, 253 p. Southern California 

 Coastal Water Research Project, 1500 East Imperial Highway, El 

 Segundo, CA 90245. 



^Young,D.R.. and G.V.Alexander 1977. Metals in mussels 

 from harbors and outfall areas. Coastal Water Research Proj- 

 ect, Annual Report, 1977, 253 p. Southern California Coastal 

 Water Research Project, 1500 East Imperial Highway, El 

 Segundo, CA 90245. 



comparative sensitivities of the major life stages of 

 marine fishes: embryo, larva, and adult. The spot, 

 Leiostomus xanthurus, was found to be more sensi- 

 tive to copper in the embryonic stage than in the 

 larval stage (Engel et al. 1976). The incipient le- 

 thal concentration (ILC50 — that concentration 

 that kills 507c of a population during an exposure 

 sufficiently long that acute lethal action has 

 ceased [Sprague 1969]) for Pacific herring, Clupea 

 harengus pallasi , embryos exposed to copper was 

 found to be approximately 30 times lower than the 

 ILC50 for Pacific herring larvae ( Rice and Harri- 

 son 1978) and 7 times lower than the ILC50 for 

 Pacific herring adults (Harrison and Rice'^). 

 Natural mortalities that occur during the early 

 life stages have been suggested to be a major factor 

 in reducing the size of a given year class of fish 

 (May 1974; Cushing 1975; Vaughan and Saila 

 1976). Pollutants that have an impact on the sur- 

 vival of fish embryos or larvae might further re- 

 duce the size of a given year class offish. 



In addition to the life stage, the chemical form of 

 copper to which fishes are exposed may play an 

 important role in the toxic response (Lee 1973; 

 Neff and Anderson 1977; Chapman and 

 McCrady^). Copper in seawater can exist in many 



Manuscript accepted February 1980. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN; VOL. 78, NO. 3, 1980. 



■'Harrison, F L., and D. W Rice, Jr. In prep. Toxic response 

 and copper body burdens of adult Pacific herring, Clupea haren- 

 gus pallasi, and northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, exposed to 

 increased copper concentrations. 



«Chapman,G.A.,andJ.K.McCrady. 1977. Copper toxicity: 

 a question of form. Recent advances in fish toxicology, a sym- 



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