EFFECT OF URANIUM ON GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION OF THE MARINE AMPHIPOD ALLORCHESTES-COMPRESSA

Experiments on growth of the marine amphipod Allorchestes compressa Dana were carried out over four weeks, and both growth and reproduction were studied over three generations, each of which was exposed to uranium for approximately 10 wk. At 0.1 mg l-1 the uranium increased growth by 23%, as measured by the mean weight after 4 wk, and at 2 mg l-1 growth was reduced by 28% compared with the control. A. compressa accumulated uranium from sea water with a concentration factor of 10. There was no effect of uranium on the survival of amphipods or their progeny in the multiple-generation experiment, but the numbers of males, the sex ratio, and the respiration rate (measured on males only) at 1 mg l-1 were significantly lower than the control. A. compressa is shown to be a convenient species for the study of toxic effects on growth and reproduction using multiple-generation experiments.