Effects of copper, nickel and zinc on three species of oregon freshwater snails

Abstract

Abstract Three snail species collected from western Oregon were exposed to metals—Juga plicifera and Lithoglyphus virens, which inhabit cool coastal streams, and Physa gyrina, which is found in Willamette Valley ponds. J. plicifera were exposed in flow-through laboratory tests to copper and nickel, L. virens were exposed to copper, and P. gyrina were exposed to nickel and zinc. J. plicifera had a 96-h LC50 (50% of the test group died) of 0.015 mg/L for copper and a no observed effect level (NOEL, mortality not significantly different from that in control groups) of 0.006 mg/L (30-d survival). J. plicifera had a 96-h LC50 for nickel of 0.237 mg/L and a NOEL of 0.124 mg/L. L. virens had a 96-h LC50 for copper of 0.008 mg/L and a NOEL of less than 0.008 mg/L. P. gyrina had a 96-h LC50 for nickel of 0.239 mg/L, a 96-h LC50 for zinc of 1.274 mg/L and a NOEL for zinc of 0.570 mg/L.